,\ 


THERE    WAS   A    CRASH    AS   THE   GREAT   WAR  TANK    HIT   THE 
WALL  AND  CRUMPLED  IT  UP 

Tom  Swift  and  His   War  Tank  (Page  124) 


TOM    SWIFT   AND 
HIS    WAR    TANK 

OR 

Doing  His  Bit  For  Uncle  Sam 


BY 

VICTOR  APPLETON 

AUTHOR  OF  "TOM   SWIFT  AND  His  MOTOR   CYCLE,"   "Ton 

SWIFT  AND  His  BIG  TUNNEL,"  "TOM  SWIFT  IN  THE 

LAND  OF  WONDERS,"  "THE  MOVING  PICTURE 

BOYS  IN  THE  JUNGLE,"  ETC. 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YORK 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP 

PUBLISHERS 

NMe  W  the  United  States  of  Anuatv- 


BOOKS    FOR    BOYS    BY 
VICTOR    APPLETON 


I2mo  Cloth.     Illustrated.    Price  per  volume,  SO  cents,  postpaid 

THE  TOM  SWIFT  SERIES 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR  CYCLE 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR  BOAT 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIRSHIP 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  SUBMARINE  BOAT 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  ELECTRIC  RUNABOUT 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WIRELESS  MESSAGE 

TOM  SWIFT  AMONG  THE  DIAMOND  MAKERS 

TO.M  SWIFT  IN  THE  CAVES  OF  ICE 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  SKY  RACER 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  ELECTRIC  RIFLE 

TOM  SW1*T  IN  THE  CITY  OF  GOLD 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  GLIDER 

TOM  SWIFT  IN  CAPTIVITY 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WIZARD  CAMERA 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  GREAT  SEARCHLIGHT  • 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  GIANT  CANNON 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  PHOTO  TELEPHONE/ 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AERIAL  WARSHIP     v 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  BIG  TUNNEL     < 

TOM  SWIFT  IN  THE  LAND  OF  WONDERS 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 


THE  MOVING  PICTURE  BOYS  SERIES 

THE  MOVING  PICTURE  BOYS 
THE  MDVING  PICTURE  BOYS  IN  THE  WEST 
THE  MOVING  PICTURE  BOYS  ON  THE  COAST 
THE  MOVING  PICTURE  BOYS  IN  THE  JUNGLE 
THE  MOVING  PICTURE  BOYS  IN  EARTHQUAKE 

LAND 

THE  MOVING  PICTURE  BOYS   AND   THE    FLOOD 
THE  MOVING  PICTURE  BOYS  AT  PANAMA 
THE  MOVING  PICTURE  BOYS  UNDER  THE  SEA 
THE  MOVING  PICTURE  BOYS  ON  THE  WAR  FRONT 


THE  MOTION  PICTURE  CHUMS  SERIES 

THE  MOTION  PICTURE  CHUMS'  FIRST  VENTURE 
THE  MOTION  PICTURE  CHUMS  AT  SEASIDE  PARK 
THE  MOTION  PICTURE  CHUMS  ON  BROADWAY 
THE  MOTION  PICTURE  CHUMS'  OUTDOOR 

EXHIBITION 

THE  MOTION  PICTURE  CHUMS'  NEW  IDEA 
THE  MOTION  PICTURE  CHUMS  AT  THE  FAIR 
THE  MOTION  PICTURE  CHUMS'  WAR  SPECTACLE 

Copyright,  1918,  by 
GROSSET     &     DUNLAP 

Tom    Swift    and    His    War   Tank 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER 

I    PAST  MEMORIES 1 

II    TOM'S  INDIFFERENCE  10 

III  NED  Is  WORRIED 20 

IV  QUEER  DOINGS   27 

V    "Is  HE  A  SLACKER?" 36 

VI    SEEING  THINGS 44 

VII    UP  A  TREE S3 

VIII    DETECTIVE  RAD  61 

IX    A  NIGHT  TEST   70 

X    A  RUNAWAY  GIANT   79 

XI    TOM'S  TANK  86 

XII    BRIDGING  A  GAP 94 

XIII  INTO  A  TRENCH    107 

XIV  THE  RUINED  FACTORY   _  114 

XV    ACROSS  COUNTRY   121 

XVI    THE  OLD  BARN   129 

XVII    VEILED  THREATS    137 

iii 


fr.  CONTENTS 

XVIII  READY  FOR  FRANCE 144 

XIX  TOM  Is  MISSING 155 

XX  THE  SEARCH  164 

XXI  A  PRISONER 171 

XXII  RESCUED  180 

XXIII  GONE  188 

XXIV  CAMOUFLAGED 198 

XXV  FOILED  209 


CHAPTER   I 

PAST   MEMORIES 

CEASING  his  restless  walk  up  and  down  the 
room,  Tom  Swift  strode  to  the  window  and 
gazed  across  the  field  toward  the  many  build 
ings,  where  machines  were  turning  out  the  prod 
ucts  evolved  from  the  brains  of  his  father  and 
himself.  There  was  a  worried  look  on  the  face 
of  the  young  inventor,  and  he  seemed  preoccu 
pied,  as  though  thinking  of  something  far  re 
moved  from  whatever  it  was  his  eyes  gazed 
upon. 

"Well,  I'll  do  it!"  suddenly  exclaimed  Tom. 
"I  don't  want  to,  but  I  will.  It's  in  the  line  of 
'doing  my  bit,'  I  suppose;  but  I'd  rather  it  was 
something  else.  I  wonder " 

"Ha!  Up  to  your  old  tricks,  I  see,  Tom!" 
1 


2  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

exclaimed  a  voice,  in  which  energy  and  friend 
liness  mingled  pleasingly.  "Up  to  your  old 
tricks!" 

"Oh,  hello,  Mr.  Damon!"  cried  Tom,  turning; 
to  shake  hands  with  an  elderly  gentleman — that 
is,  elderly  in  appearance  but  not  in  action,  for  he 
crossed  the  room  with  the  springing  step  of  a 
lad,  and  there  was  the  enthusiasm  of  youth  on  his 
face.  "What  do  you  mean — my  old  tricks?" 

"Talking  to  yourself,  Tom.  And  when  you  do 
that  it  means  there  is  something  in  the  wind.  I 
hope,  as  a  sort  of  side  remark,  it  isn't  rain  that's 
in  the  wind,  for  the  soldiers  over  at  camp  have 
had  enough  water  to  set  up  a  rival  establishment 
with  Mr.  Noah.  But  there's  something  going 
on,  isn't  there?  Bless  my  memorandum  book, 
but  don't  tell  me  there  isn't,  or  I  shall  begin  to 
believe  I  have  lost  all  my  deductive  powers  of 
reasoning!  I  come  in  here,  after  knocking  two 
or  three  times,  to  which  you  pay  not  the  least  at 
tention,  and  find  you  mysteriously  murmuring  to 
yourself. 

.  "The  last  time  that  happened,  Tom,  was  just 
before  you  started  to  dig  the  big  tunnel — •  No, 
I'm  wrong.  It  was  just  before  you  started  for  the 
Land  of  Wonders,  as  we  decided  it  ought  to  be 
called.  You  were  talking  to  yourself  then,  when 
I  walked  in  on  you,  and Say, Tom !"  suddenly 


PAST  MEMORIES  3 

exclaimed  Mr.  Damon  eagerly,  "don't  tell  me 
you're  going  off  on  another  wild  journey  like  that 
—don't!" 

"Why?"  asked  Tom,  smiling  at  the  energy  of 
his  caller. 

"Because  if  you  are,  I'll  want  to  go  with  you, 
of  course,  and  if  I  go  it  means  I'll  have  to  start 
in  as  soon  as  I  can  to  bring  my  wife  around  to 
my  way  of  thinking.  The  last  time  I  went  it 
took  me  two  weeks  to  get  her  to  consent,  and 
then  she  didn't  like  it.  So  if " 

"No,  Mr.  Damon,"  interrupted  Tom,  "I  don't 
count  on  going  on  any  sort  of  a  trip — that  is,  any 
long  one.  I  was  just  getting  ready  to  take  a 
little  spin  in  the  Hawk,  and  if  you'd  like  to  come 
along " 

"You  mean  that  saucy  little  airship  of  yours, 
Tom,  that's  always  trying  to  sit  down  on  her 
tail,  or  tickle  herself  with  one  wing?" 

"That's  the  Hawkl"  laughed  Tom;  "though, 
that  tickling  business  you  speak  of  is  when  I 
spiral.  Don't  you  like  it?" 

"Can't  say  I  do,"  observed  Mr.  Damon  dryly. 

"Well,  I'll  promise  not  to  try  any  stunts  if  youy 
come  along,"  Tom  went  on. 

"Where  are  you  going?"  asked  his  friend. 

"Oh,  no  place  in  particular.  As  you  surmised, 
I've  been  doing  a  bit  of  thinking,  and " 


4          TOM  SWIFT  'AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

"Serious  thinking,  too,  Tom!"  interrupted  Mr. 
Damon.  "Excuse  me,  but  I  couldn't  help  over 
hearing  what  you  said.  It  was  something  about 
going  to  do  something  though  you  didn't  want 
to,  and  that  it  was  part  of  your  'bit.'  That 
sounds  like  soldier  talk.  Are  you  going  to  en 
list,  Tom?" 

"No." 

"Urn!    Well,  then " 

"It's  something  I  can't  talk  about,  Mr.  Damon, 
even  to  you,  as  yet,"  Tom  said,  and  there  was  a 
new  quality  in  his  voice,  at  which  his  friend 
looked  up  in  some  surprise. 

"Oh,  of  course,  Tom,  if  it's  a  secret " 

"Well,  it  hasn't  even  got  that  far,  as  yet.  It's 
all  up  in  the  air,  so  to  speak.  I'll  tell  you  in  due 
season.  But,  speaking  of  the  air,  let's  go  for  a 
spin.  It  may  drive  some  of  the  cobwebs  out  of 
my  brain.  Did  I  hear  you  say  you  thought  it 
would  rain?" 

"No,  it's  as  clear  as  a  bell.  I  said  I  hoped  it 
wouldn't  rain  for  the  sake  of  the  soldiers  in 
camp.  They've  had  their  share  of  wet  weather, 
and,  goodness  knows,  they'll  get  more  when  they 
get  to  Flanders.  It  seems  to  do  nothing  but  rain 
in  France." 

"It  is  damp,"  agreed  Tom.  "And,  come  to 
think  of  it,  they  are  going  to  have  some  airship 


PAST  MEMORIES  5 

contests  over  at  camp  to-day — for  the  men  who 
are  being  trained  to  be  aviators,  you  know.  It 
just  occurred  to  me  that  we  might  fly  over  there 
and  watch  them." 

"Fine!"  cried  Mr.  Damon.  "That's  the  very 
thing  I  should  like.  I'll  take  a  chance  in  your 
Hawk,  Tom,  if  you'll  promise  not  to  try  any 
spiral  stunts." 

"I  promise,  Mr.  Damon.  Come  on!  I'll  have 
Koku  run  the  machine  out  and  get  her  ready  for 
a  flight  to  camp.  It's  a  good  day  for  a  jaunt  in 
the  air. 

"Get  out  the  Hawk,  Koku,"  ordered  the  young 
inventor,  as  he  motioned  to  a  big  man — a  ver 
itable  giant — who  nodded  to  show  he  understood. 
Koku  was  really  a  giant,  one  of  a  race  of  strange 
beings,  and  Tom  Swift  had  brought  the  big  man 
with  him  when  he  escaped  from  captivity,  as 
those  will  remember  who  have  read  that  book. 

"Going  far,  Tom?"  asked  an  aged  man,  com 
ing  to  the  door  of  one  of  the  many  buildings  of 
which  the  shed  where  the  airship  was  kept 
formed  one. 

"Not  very  far,  Father,"  answered  the  young 
inventor.  "Mr.  Damon  and  I  are  going  for  a 
little  spin  over  to  Camp  Grant,  to  see  some  air 
craft  contests  among  the  army  birdmen. 

"Oh,  all  right,  Tom.    I  just  wanted  to  tell  you 


6  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

that  I  think  I've  gotten  over  that  difficulty  you 
found  with  the  big  carbureter  you  were  working 
on.  You  didn't  say  what  you  wanted  it  for,  ex 
cept  that  it  was  for  a  heavy  duty  gasolene  engine, 
and  you  couldn't  get  the  needle  valve  to  work  as 
you'd  like.  I  think  I've  found  a  way." 

"Good,  Dad !  I'll  look  at  it  when  I  come  back. 
That  carbureter  did  bother  me,  and  if  I  can  get 
that  to  work — well,  maybe  we'll  have  something 
soon  that  will " 

But  Tom  did  not  finish  his  sentence,  for  Koku 
was  getting  the  aircraft  in  operation  and  Mr. 
Damon  was  already  taking  his  place  behind  the 
pilot's  seat,  which  would  be  occupied  by  Tom. 

"All  ready,  are  you,  Koku?"  asked  the  young 
inventor. 

"All  ready,  Master,"  answered  the  giant. 

There  was  a  roar  like  that  of  a  machine  gun 
as  the  Hawk's  engine  spun  the  propeller,  and 
then,  after  a  little  run  across  the  sod,  it  mounted 
into  the  air,  carrying  Tom  and  Mr.  Damon 
with  it. 

"Mind  you,  Tom,  no  stunts!"  called  the  vis-; 
itor  to  the  young  inventor  through  the  speaking 
tube  apparatus,  which  enabled  a  conversation  to 
be  carried  on,  even  above  the  roar  of  the  power 
ful  engine.  "Bless  my  overshoes!  if  you  try 
looping  the  loop  with  me " 


PAST  MEMORIES  7 

"I  won't  do  anything  like  that!"  promised 
Tom. 

Away  they  soared,  swift  as  a  veritable  hawk, 
and  soon,  after  there  had  unrolled  below  their 
eyes  a  succession  of  fields  and  forest,  there  came 
into  view  rows  and  rows  of  small  brown  objects, 
among  which  beings,  like  ants,  seemed  crawling 
about. 

"There's  the  camp!"  exclaimed  Tom. 

"I  see,"  and  Mr.  Damon  nodded. 

As  they  approached,  they  saw,  starting  up  from 
a  green  space  amid  the  brown  tents,  what  ap 
peared  to  be  big  bugs  of  a  dirty  white  color 
splotched  with  green. 

"The  aircraft — and  they  have  camouflage  paint 
on,"  said  Tom.  "We  can  watch  'em  from  up 
here!" 

Mr.  Damon  nodded,  though  Tom  could  not  see 
him,  sitting  in  front  of  his  friend  as  he  was. 

Up  and  up  circled  the  army  aircraft,  and  they; 
seemed  to  bow  and  nod  a  greeting  to  the  Hawk, 
which  was  soon  in  the  midst  of  them.  Tom  and 
Mr.  Damon,  flying  high,  though  at  no  great 
speed,  looked  at  the  manoeuvres  of  the  veterans 
and  the  learners — many  of  whom  might  soon  be 
engaging  the  Bodies  in  far-off  France. 

"Some  of  'em  are  pretty  good!"  called  Tom, 
through  the  tube.  "That  one  fellow  did  the  loop 


8  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

as  prettily  as  I've  ever  seen  it  done,"  and  Tom 
Swift  had  a  right  to  speak  as  one  of  authority. 

Tom  and  his  friend  watched  the  aircraft  for 
some  time,  and  then  started  off  in  a  long  flight, 
attaining  a  high  speed,  which,  at  first,  made  Mr. 
Damon  gasp,  until  he  became  used  to  it.  He  was 
no  novice  at  flying,  and  had  even  operated  aero 
planes  himself,  though  at  no  great  height. 

Suddenly  the  Hawk  seemed  to  falter,  almost  as 
does  a  bird  stricken  by  a  hunter's  gun.  The 
craft  seemed  to  hang  in  the  air,  losing  motion  as 
though  about  to  plunge  to  earth  unguided. 

"What's  the  matter?"  cried  Mr.  Damon. 

"One  of  the  control  wires  broken!"  was  Tom's 
laconic  answer.  "I'll  have  to  volplane  down.  Sit 
tight,  there's  no  danger!" 

Mr.  Damon  knew  that  with  so  competent  a 
pilot  as  Tom  Swift  in  the  forward  seat  this  was 
true,  but,  nevertheless,  he  was  a  bit  nervous  until 
he  felt  the  smooth,  gliding  motion,  with  now  and 
then  an  upward  tilt,  which  showed  that  Tom  was 
coming  down  from  the  upper  regions  in  a  series 
of  long  glides.  The  engine  had  stopped,  and  the 
cessation  of  the  thundering  noise  made  it  possible 
for  Tom  and  his  passenger  to  talk  without  the 
use  of  the  speaking  tube. 

"All  right?"  asked  Mr.  Damon. 

"All  right,"  Tom  answered,  and  a  little  later 


PAST  MEMORIES  9 

the  machine  was  rolling  gently  over  the  turf  of  a 
large  field,  a  mile  or  so  from  the  camp. 

Before  Tom  and  Mr.  Damon  could  get  out  of 
their  seats,  a  man,  seemingly  springing  up  from 
some  hollow  in  the  ground,  walked  toward  them. 

"Had  an  accident?"  he  asked,  in  what  he  evi 
dently  meant  for  a  friendly  voice. 

"A  little  one,  easily  mended,"  Tom  answered. 

He  was  about  to  take  off  his  goggles,  but  at 
sight  of  the  man's  face  a  change  came  over  the 
countenance  of  Tom  Swift,  and  he  replaced  the 
eye  protectors.  Then  Tom  turned  to  Mr.  Da 
mon,  as  if  to  ask  a  question,  but  the  stranger 
came  so  close,  evidently  curious  to  see  the  air 
craft  at  close  quarters,  that  the  young  inventor 
could  not  speak  without  being  overheard. 

Tom  got  out  his  kit  of  tools  to  repair  the  bro 
ken  control,  and  the  man  watched  him  curiously. 
As  he  tinkered  away,  something  was  stirring 
among  the  past  memories  of  the  inventor.  A 
question  he  asked  himself  over  and  over  again 
was: 

"Where  have  I  seen  this  man  before?  His 
face  is  familiar,  but  I  can't  place  him.  He  is  as 
sociated  with  something  unpleasant.  But  where 
have  I  seen  this  man  before?" 


CHAPTER   II 

TOM'S   INDIFFERENCE 

r 

"DiD  you  make  this  machine  yourself?"  asked 
the  stranger  of  Tom,  as  the  young  inventor 
worked  at  the  damaged  part  of  his  craft 

Mr.  Damon  had  also  alighted,  taken  off  his 
goggles,  and  was  looking  aloft,  where  the  army 
aircraft  were  going  through  various  evolutions, 
and  down  below,  where  the  young  soldiers  were 
drilling  under  such  conditions,  as  far  as  possible, 
as  they  might  meet  with  when  some  of  their  num 
ber  went  "over  the  top."  Mr.  Damor  was  mur 
muring  to  himself  such  remarks  as : 

"Bless  my  fountain  pen!  look  at  that  chap 
turning  upside  down!  Bless  my  inkwell!" 

"I  beg  your  pardon,"  remarked  Tom  Swift, 
following  the  remark  of  the  man,  whose  face  he 
,\vas  trying  to  recall.  It  was  not  that  Tom  had 
not  heard  the  question,  but  he  was  trying  to  gain 
time  b'ei  .ore  answering. 

fe.l  c-.sked  if  you  made  this  machine  yourself^ 
10 


TOM'S  INDIFFERENCE  11 

went  on  the  man,  as  he  peered  about  at  the  Hawk. 
"It  isn't  like  any  I've  ever  seen  before,  and  I 
know  something  about  airships.  It  has  some 
vnew  wrinkles  on  it,  and  I  thought  you  might 
have  evolved  them  yourself.  Not  that  it's  an 
amateur  affair,  by  any  means!"  he  added  hastily, 
as  if  fearing  the  young  inventor  might  resent  the 
implication  that  his  machine  was  a  home-made 
product 

"Yes,  I  originated  this,"  answered  Tom,  as  he 
put  a  new  turn-buckle  in  place;  "but  I  didn't  ac 
tually  construct  it — that  is,  except  for  some  small 
parts.  It  was  made  in  the  shop " 

"Over  at  the  army  construction  plant,  I  pre 
sume,"  interrupted  the  man  quickly,  as  he  mo 
tioned  toward  the  big  factory,  not  far  from  Shop- 
ton,  where  aircraft  for  Uncle  Sam's  Army  were 
being  turned  out  by  the  hundreds. 

"Might  as  well  let  him  think  that,"  mused 
Tom;  "at  least  until  I  can  figure  out  who  he  is 
and  what  he  wants." 

"This  is  different  from  most  of  those  up 
there,"  and  the  stranger  pointed  toward  the  cir 
cling  craft  on  high.  "A  bit  more  speedy,  I  guess, 
isn't  it?" 

"Well,  yes,  in  a  way,"  agreed  Tom,  who  was 
bending  over  his  craft.  He  stole  a  side  look  at 
the  man.  The  face  was  becoming  more  and  more 


12         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

familiar,  yet  something  about  it  puzzled  Tom 
Swift. 

"I've  seen  him  before,  and  yet  he  didn't  look 
like  that,"  thought  the  young  inventor.  "It's 
different,  somehow.  Now  why  should  my  mem 
ory  play  me  a  trick  like  this  ?  Who  in  the  world 
can  he  be?" 

Tom  straightened  up,  and  tossed  a  monkey- 
wrench  into  the  tool  box. 

"Get  everything  fixed?"  asked  the  stranger. 

"I  think  so,"  and  the  young  inventor  tried  to 
make  his  answer  pleasant.  "It  was  only  a  small 
break,  easily  fixed." 

"Then  you'll  be  on  your  way  again?" 

"Yes.  Are  .you  ready?"  called  Tom  to  Mr, 
Damon. 

"Bless  my  timetable,  yes !  I  didn't  think  you'd 
start  back  again  so  soon.  There's  one  young  fel 
low  up  there  who  has  looped  the  loop  three 
times,  and  I  expect  him  to  fall  any  minute." 

"Oh,  I  guess  he  knows  his  business,"  Tom  said 
easily.  "We'll  be  getting  back  now." 

"One  moment!"  called  the  man.  "I  beg  your 
pardon  for  troubling  you,  but  you  seem  to  be  a 
mechanic,  and  that's  just  the  sort  of  man  I'm 
looking  for.  Are  you  open  to  an  offer  to  do  some 
inventive  and  constructive  work?" 

Tom  was  on  his  guard  instantly. 


TOM'S  INDIFFERENCE  13 

"Well,  I  can't  say  that  I  am,"  he  answered. 
"I  am  pretty  busy " 

"This  would  pay  well,"  went  on  the  man 
eagerly.  "I  am  a  stranger  around  here,  but  I 
can  furnish  satisfactory  references.  I  am  in  need 
of  a  good  mechanic,  an  inventor  as  well,  who  can 
do  what  you  seem  to  have  done  so  well.  I  had 
hopes  of  getting  some  one  at  the  army  plant." 

"I  guess  they're  not  letting  any  of  their  men 
go,"  said  Tom,  as  Mr.  Damon  climbed  to  his  seat 
in  the  Harwk. 

"No,  I  soon  found  that  out.  But  I  thought 
perhaps  you " 

Tom  shook  his  head. 

"I'm  sorry,"  he  answered,  "but  I'm  otherwise 
engaged,  and  very  busy." 

"One  moment!"  called  the  man,  as  he  saw  Tom 
about  to  start.  "Is  the  Swift  Company  plant  far 
from  here?" 

Tom  felt  something  like  a  thrill  go  through 
him.  There  was  an  unexpected  note  in  the  man's 
voice.  The  face  of  the  young  inventor  lightened, 
and  the  doubts  melted  away. 

"No,  it  isn't  far/5  Tom  answered,  shouting  to 
be  heard  above  the  crackling  bangs  of  the  motor. 
And  then,  as  the  craft  soared  into  the  air,  ha 
cried  exultingly: 

"I  have  it!     I  know  who  he  is!    The  scoun- 


14          TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

drel!  His  beard  fooled  me,  and  he  probably 
didn't  know  me  with  these  goggles  on.  But  now 
I  know  him!" 

"Bless  my  calendar!"  cried  Mr.  Damon. 
"What  are  you  talking  about?" 

But  Tom  did  not  answer,  for  the  reason  that 
just  then  the  Hawk  fell  into  an  "air  pocket,"  and 
needed  all  his  attention  to  straighten  her  out  and 
get  her  on  a  level  course  again. 

And  while  Tom  Swift  is  thus  engaged  in 
speeding  his  aircraft  along  the  upper  regions  to 
ward  his  home,  it  will  take  but  a  few  moments  to 
acquaint  my  new  readers  with  something  of  the 
history  of  the  young  inventor.  Those  who  have 
read  the  previous  books  in  this  series  need  be 
told  nothing  about  our  hero. 

Tom  Swift  was  an  inventor  of  note,  as  was  his 
father.  Mr.  Swift  was  now  quite  aged  and  not 
in  robust  health,  but  he  was  active  at  times  and 
often  aided  Tom  when  some  knotty  point 
came  up. 

Tom  and  his  father  lived  on  the  outskirts  of 
the  town  of  Shopton,  and  near  their  home  were 
various  buildings  in  which  the  different  machines 
and  appliances  were  made.  Tom's  mother  was 
dead,  but  Mrs.  Baggert,  the  housekeeper,  was  as 
careful  in  looking  after  Tom  and  his  father  as 
any  woman  could  be. 


TOM'S  INDIFFERENCE  15 

In  addition  to  these  three,  the  household  con 
sisted  of  Eradicate  Sampson,  an  aged  colored 
servant,  and,  it  might  almost  be  added,  his  mule 
Boomerang;  but  Boomerang  had  manners  that, 
at  times,  did  not  make  him  a  welcome  addition  to 
any  household.  Then  there  was  the  giant  Koku, 
one  of  two  big  men  Tom  had  brought  back  with 
him  from  the  land  where  the  young  inventor  had 
been  held  captive  for  a  time. 

The  first  book  of  this  series  is  called  "Tom 
Swift  and  His  Motor  Cycle,"  and  it  was  in  ac 
quiring  possession  of  that  machine  that  Tom  met 
his  friend  Mr.  Wakefield  Damon,  who  lived  in  a 
neighboring  town.  Mr.  Damon  owned  the  motor 
cycle  originally,  but  when  it  attempted  to  climb  a 
tree  with  him  he  sold  it  to  Tom. 

Tom  had  many  adventures  on  the  machine,  and 
it  started  him  on  his  inventive  career.  From  then 
on  he  had  had  a  series  of  surprising  adventures. 
He  had  traveled  in  his  motor  boat,  in  an  airship, 
and  then  had  taken  to  a  submarine.  In  his  elec 
tric  runabout  he  showed  what  the  speediest  car 
on  the  road  could  do,  and  when  he  sent  his  wire 
less  message,  the  details  of  which  can  be  found 
set  down  in  the  volume  of  that  name,  Tom  saved 
the  castaways  of  Earthquake  Island. 

Tom  Swift  had  many  other  thrilling  escapes, 
one  from  among  the  diamond  makers,  and  aa- 


16         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

other  from  the  caves  of  ice;  and  he  made  the 
quickest  flight  on  record  in  his  sky  racer. 

Tom's  wizard  camera,  his  great  searchlight, 
his  giant  cannon,  his  photo  telephone,  his  aerial 
warship  and  the  big  tunnel  he  helped  to  dig, 
brought  him  credit,  fame,  and  not  a  little  money. 
He  had  not  long  been  back  from  an  expedition  to 
Honduras,  dubbed  "the  land  of  wonders,"  when 
he  was  again  busy  on  some  of  his  many  ideas. 
And  it  was  to  get  some  relief  from  his  thoughts 
that  he  had  taken  the  flight  with  Mr.  Damon  on 
the  day  the  present  story  opens. 

"What  are  you  so  excited  about,  Tom?"  asked 
his  friend,  as  the  Hawk  alighted  near  the  shed 
back  of  the  young  inventor's  home.  "Bless  my 
scarf  pin !  but  any  one  would  think  you'd  just  dis 
covered  the  true  method  of  squaring  the  circle." 

"Well,  it's  almost  as  good  as  that,  and  more 
practical,"  Tom  said,  with  a  smile,  as  he  mo 
tioned  to  Koku  to  put  away  the  aircraft  "I 
know  who  that  man  is,  now." 

"What  man,  Tom?" 

"The  one  who  was  questioning  me  when  I  was 
fixing  the  airship.  I  kept  puzzling  and  puzzling 
as  to  his  identity,  and,  all  at  once,  it  came  to 
me.  Do  you  know  who  he  is,  Mr.  Damon  ?" 

"No,  I  can't  say  that  I  do,  Tom.  But,  as  you 
say,  there  was  something  vaguely  familiar  about 


TOM'S  INDIFFERENCE  17 

him.  It  seemed  as  if  I  must  have  seen  him  be 
fore,  and  yet " 

"That's  just  the  way  it  struck  me.  What 
would  you  say  if  I  told  you  that  man  was  Blake- 
son,  of  Blakeson  and  Grinder,  the  rival  tunnel 
contractors  who  made  such  trouble  for  us?" 

"You  mean  down  in  Peru,  Tom?" 

"Yes." 

Mr.  Damon  started  in  surprise,  and  then  ex 
claimed  : 

"Bless  my  ear  mufflers,  Tom,  but  you're  right! 
That  was  Blakeson !  I  didn't  know  him  with  his 
beard,  but  that  was  Blakeson,  all  right!  Bless 
my  foot- warmer!  What  do  you  suppose  he  is 
doing  around  here?" 

"I  don't  know,  Mr.  Damon,  but  I'd  give  a  good 
deal  to  know.  It  isn't  any  good,  I'll  wager  on 
that.  He  didn't  seem  to  know  me — or  you,  either 
— unless  he  did  and  didn't  let  on.  I  suppose  it 
was  because  of  my  goggles — and  you  were  gaz 
ing  up  in  the  air  most  of  the  time.  I  don't  think 
he  knew  either  of  us." 

"It  didn't  seem  so,  Tom.  But  what  is  he  doing 
here?  Do  you  think  he  is  working  at  the  army 
camp,  or  helping  make  Liberty  Motors  for  the 
aircraft  that  are  going  to  beat  the  Germans?" 

"Hardly.  He  didn't  seem  to  be  connected  with 
the  camp.  He  wanted  a  mechanic,  and  hinted 


18          TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

that  I  might  do.  Jove!  if  he  really  didn't  know 
who  I  was,  and  finds  out,  say!  won't  he  be  sur 
prised?" 

"Rather,"  agreed  Mr.  Damon.  "Well,  Tom,  I 
had  a  nice  little  ride.  And  now  I  must  be  get 
ting  back.  But  if  you  contemplate  a  trip  any 
where,  don't  forget  to  let  me  know." 

"I  don't  count  on  going  anywhere  soon,"  Tom 
answered.  "I  have  something  on  hand  that  will 
occupy  all  my  time,  though  I  don't  just  like  it. 
However,  I'm  going  to  do  my  best,"  and  he 
waved  good-bye  to  Mr.  Damon,  who  went  off 
blessing  various  parts  of  his  anatomy  or  clothing, 
an  odd  habit  he  had. 

As  Tom  turned  to  go  into  the  house,  the  un 
settled  look  still  on  his  face,  some  one  hailed  him. 

"I  say,  Tom.  Hello!  Wait  a  minute!  I've 
got  something  to  show  you!" 

"Oh,  hello,  Ned  Newton!"  called  back  the 
young  inventor.  "Well,  if  it's  Liberty  Bonds, 
you  don't  need  to  show  me  any,  for  dad  and  I 
will  buy  all  we  can  without  seeing  them. " 

"I  know  that,  Tom,  and  it  was  a  dandy  sub 
scription  you  gave  me.  I  didn't  come  about  that, 
though  I  may  be  around  the  next  time  Uncle  Sam 
wants  the  people  to  dig  down  in  their  socks. 
This  is  something  different,"  and  Ned  Newton,  a 
young  banker  of  Shopton  and  a  lifelong  friend 


TOM'S  INDIFFERENCE  19 

of  Tom's,  drew  a  paper  from  his  pocket  as  he 
advanced  across  the  lawn. 

"There,  Tom  Swift!"  he  cried,  flipping  out  an 
illustrated  page,  evidently  from  some  illustrated 
newspaper.  "There's  the  very  latest  from  the 
other  side.  A  London  banker  friend  of  mine 
sent  it  to  me,  and  it  got  past  the  censor  all  right. 
It's  the  first  authentic  photograph  of  the  newest 
and  biggest  British  tank.  Isn't  that  a  wonder?" 

Ned  held  up  the  paper  which  had  in  it  a  full- 
page  photograph  of  a  monster  tank — those  weird 
machines  traveling  on  endless  steel  belts  of  cater 
pillar  construction,  armored,  riveted  and  plated, 
with  machine  guns  bristling  here  and  there. 

"Isn't  that  great,  Tom?  Can  you  beat  it?  It's 
the  most  wonderful  machine  of  the  age,  even 
counting  some  of  yours.  Can  you  beat  it?" 

Tom  took  the  paper  indifferently,  and  his  man 
ner  surprised  his  chum. 

"Well,  what's  the  matter,  Tom?"  asked  Ned. 
"Don't  you  think  that  great?  Why  don't  you  say 
something?  You  don't  mean  to  say  you've  seen 
that  picture  before?" 

"No,  Ned." 

"Then  what's  the  matter  with  you?  Isn't  that 
wonderful?" 


CHAPTER   III 

NED   IS   WORRIED 

TOM  SWIFT  did  not  answer  for  several  sec 
onds.  He  stood  holding  the  paper  Ned  had 
given  him,  the  sun  slanting  on  the  picture  of  the 
big  British  tank.  But  the  young  inventor  did  not 
appear  to  see  it.  Instead,  his  eyes  were  as  though 
contemplating  something  afar  off. 

"Well,  this  gets  me!"  cried  Ned,  his  voice 
showing  impatience.  "Here  I  go  and  get  a  pic 
ture  of  the  latest  machine  the  British  armies  are 
smashing  up  the  Bodies  with,  and  bring  it  to  you 
fresh  from  the  mail — I  even  quit  my  Liberty 
Bond  business  to  do  it,  and  I  know  some  dandy 
prospects,  too — and  here  you  look  at  it  like  a — 
like  a  fish!"  burst  out  Ned. 

"Say,  old  man,  I  guess  that's  right!"  admitted 
Tom.  "I  wasn't  thinking  about  it,  to  tell  you  the 
truth." 

"Why  not?"  Ned  demanded.  "Isn't  it  great, 
Tom?  Did  you  ever  see  anything  like  it?" 

"Yes." 

20 


NED  IS  WORRIED  21 

"You  did?"  cried  Ned,  in  surprise.  "Where? 
Say,  Tom  Swift,  are  you  keeping  something  from 
me?" 

"I  mean  no,  Ned.  I  never  have  seen  a  British 
tank." 

"Well,  did  you  ever  see  a  picture  like  this  be 
fore?"  Ned  persisted. 

"No,  not  exactly  like  that.    But " 

"Well,  what  do  you  think  of  it?"  cried  the 
young  banker,  who  was  giving  much  of  his  time 
to  selling  bonds  for  the  Government.  "Isn't  it 
great?" 

Tom  considered  a  moment  before  replying. 
Then  he  said  slowly : 

"Well,  yes,  Ned,  it  is  a  pretty  good  machine. 
But " 

"  'But !'  Howling  tomcats !  Say,  what's  the 
matter  with  you,  anyhow,  Tom?  This  is  great! 
'But!'  'But  me  no  bu'ts!'  This  is,  without  ex 
ception,  the  greatest  thing  out  since  an  airship. 
It  will  win  the  war  for  us  and  the  Allies,  too,  and 
don't  you  forget  it!  Fritz's  barbed  wire  and 
dugouts  and  machine  gun  emplacements  can't 
stand  for  a  minute  against  these  tanks!  Why, 
Tom,  they  can  crawl  on  their  back  as  well  as  any 
other  way,  and  they  don't  mind  a  shower  of 
shrapnel  or  a  burst  of  machine  gun  lead,  any  more 
than  an  alligator  minds  a  swarm  of  gnats.  The 


22         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

only  thing  that  makes  'em  hesitate  a  bit  is  a  Jack 
Johnson  or  a  Bertha  shell,  and  it's  got  to  be  a 
pretty  big  one,  and  in  the  right  place,  to  do  much 
damage.  These  tanks  are  great,  and  there's  noth 
ing  like  'em. " 

"Oh,  yes  there  is,  Ned!" 

"There  is !"  cried  Ned.    "What  do  you  mean  ?" 

"I  mean  there  may  be  something  like  them — 
soon. " 

"There  may?    Say,  Tom " 

"Now  don't  ask  me  a  lot  of  questions,  Ned, 
for  I  can't  answer  them.  When  I  say  there  may 
be  something  like  them,  I  mean  it  isn't  beyond 
the  realms  of  possibility  that  some  one — perhaps 
the  Germans — may  turn  out  even  bigger  and  bet 
ter  tanks." 

"Oh!"  And  Ned's  voice  showed  his  disap 
pointment.  "I  thought  maybe  you  were  in  on 
that  game  yourself,  Tom.  Say,  couldn't  you  get 
up  something  almost  as  good  as  this?"  and  he  in 
dicated  the  picture  in  the  paper.  "Isn't  that 
wonderful?" 

"Oh,  well,  it's  good,  Ned,  but  there  are  others. 
Yes,  Dad,  I'm  coming,"  he  called,  as  he  saw  his 
father  beckoning  to  him  from  a  distant  building. 

"Well,  I've  got  to  get  along,"  said  Ned.  "But 
I  certainly  am  disappointed,  Tom.  I  thought 
you'd  go  into  a  fit  over  this  picture — it's  one  of 


NED  IS  WORRIED  23 

the  first  allowed  to  get  out  of  England,  my  Lon 
don  friend  said.  And  instead  of  enthusing  you're 
as  cold  as  a  clam;"  and  Ned  shook  his  head  in 
puzzled  and  disappointed  fashion  as  he  walked 
slowly  along  beside  the  young  inventor. 

They  passed  a  new  building,  one  of  the  largest 
in  the  group  of  the  many  comprising  the  Swift 
plant.  Ned  looked  at  the  door  which  bore  a  no 
tice  to  the  effect  that  no  one  was  admitted  unless 
bearing  a  special  permit,  or  accompanied  by  Mr. 
Swift  or  Tom. 

"What's  this,  Tom?"  asked  Ned.  "Some  new 
>vrinkle?" 

"Yes,  an  invention  I'm  working  on.  It  isn't  in 
shape  yet  to  be  seen." 

"It  must  be  something  big,  Tom,"  observed 
Ned,  as  he  viewed  the  large  building. 

"It  is." 

"And  say,  what  a  whopping  big  fence  you've 
got  around  the  back  yard!"  went  on  the  young 
banker.  "Looks  like  a  baseball  field,  but  it  would 
take  some  scrambling  on  the  part  of  a  back-lots 
kid  to  get  over  it." 

"That's  what  it's  for — to  keep  people  out." 

"I  see!  Well,  I've  got  to  get  along.  I'm  a 
bit  back  in  my  day's  quota  of  selling  Liberty 
Bonds,  and  I've  got  to  hustle.  I'm  sorry  I  both 
ered  you  about  that  tank  picture,  Tom." 


24          TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

"Oh,  it  wasn't  a  bother — don't  think  that  for  a 
minute,  Ned !  I  was  glad  to  see  it " 

"Well,  he  didn't  seem  so,  and  his  manner  was 
certainly  queer,"  mused  Ned,  as  he  walked  away, 
and  turned  in  time  to  see  Tom  enter  the  new 
building,  which  had  such  a  high  fence  all  around 
it.  "I  never  saw  him  more  indifferent.  I  won 
der  if  Tom  isn't  interested  in  seeing  Uncle  Sam 
help  win  this  war?  That's  the  way  it  struck  me. 
I  thought  surely  Tom  would  go  up  in  the  air, 
and  say  this  was  a  dandy,"  and  Ned  unfolded  the 
paper  and  took  another  look  at  the  British  tank 
photograph.  "If  there's  anything  can  beat  that 
I'd  like  to  see  it,"  he  mused. 

"But  I  suppose  Tom  has  discovered  some  new 
kind  of  air  stabilizer,  or  a  different  kind  of  car 
bureter  that  will  vaporize  kerosene  as  well  as 
gasolene.  If  he  has,  why  doesn't  he  offer  it  to 
Uncle  Sam?  I  wonder  if  Tom  is  pro-German? 
No,  of  course  he  can't  be!"  and  Ned  laughed  at 
his  own  idea. 

"At  the  same  time,  it  is  queer,"  he  mused  on. 
"There  is  something  wrong  with  Tom  Swift." 

Once  more  Ned  looked  at  the  picture.  It  was 
a  representation  of  one  of  the  newest  and  largest 
of  the  British  tanks.  In  appearance  these  are  not 
unlike  great  tanks,  though  they  are  neither  round 
nor  square,  being  shaped,  in  fact,  like  two  wedges 


NED  IS  WORRIED  25 

with  the  broad  ends  put  together,  and  the  sharp 
er  ends  sticking  out,  though  there  is  no  sharpness 
to  a  tank,  the  "noses"  both  being  blunt. 

Around  each  outer  edge  runs  an  endless  belt  of 
/steel  plates,  hinged  together,  with  ridges  at  the 
joints,  and  these  broad  belts  of  steel  plates,  like 
the  platforms  of  some  moving  stairways  used  in 
department  stores,  moving  around,  give  motion 
to  the  tank. 

Inside,  well  protected  from  the  fire  of  enemy 
guns  by  steel  plates,  are  the  engines  for  driving 
the  belts,  or  caterpillar  wheels,  as  they  are  called. 
There  is  also  the  steering  apparatus,  and  the  guns 
that  fire  on  the  enemy.  There  are  cramped  Hving 
and  sleeping  quarters  for  the  tank's  crew,  more 
limited  than  those  of  a  submarine. 

The  tank  is  ponderous,  the  smallest  of  them, 
which  were  those  first  constructed,  weighing 
'forty-two  tons,  or  about  as  much  as  a  good-sized 
railroad  freight  car.  And  it  is  this  ponderosity, 
with  its  slow  but  resistless  movement,  that  gives 
the  tank  its  power. 

The  tank,  by  means  of  the  endless  belts  of 
steel  plates,  can  travel  over  the  roughest  country. 
It  can  butt  into  a  tree,  a  stone  wall,  or  a  house, 
iknock  over  the  obstruction,  mount  it,  crawl  over 
it,  and  slide  down  into  a  hole  on  the  other  side 
and  crawl  out  again,  on  the  level,  or  at  an  angle. 


26 

Even  if  overturned,  the  tanks  can  sometimes 
right  themselves  and  keep  on.  At  the  rear  are 
trailer  wheels,  partly  used  in  steering  and  partly 
for  reaching  over  gaps  or  getting  out  of  holes. 
The  tanks  can  turn  in  their  own  length,  by  mov 
ing  one  belt  in  one  direction  and  the  other  op 
positely. 

Inside  there  is  nothing  much  but  machinery  of 
the  gasolene  type,  and  the  machine  guns.  The 
tank  is  closed  except  for  small  openings  out  of 
which  the  guns  project,  and  slots  through  which 
the  men  inside  look  out  to  guide  themselves  or 
direct  their  fire. 

Such,  in  brief,  is  a  British  tank,  one  of  the 
most  powerful  and  effective  weapons  yet  loosed 
against  the  Germans.  They  are  useful  in  tearing 
down  the  barbed-wire  entanglements  on  the  Boche 
side  of  No  Man's  Land,  and  they  can  clear  the 
way  up  to  and  past  the  trenches,  which  they  can 
straddle  and  wriggle  across  like  some  giant  worm. 

"And  to  think  that  Tom  Swift  didn't  enthuse 
over  these!"  murmured  Ned.  "I  wonder  what's 
the  matter  with  him!" 


CHAPTER  iv 

QUEER   DOINGS 

THERE  was  a  subdued  air  of  activity  about  the 
bwift  plant  Subdued,  owing  to  the  fact  that  it 
was  mostly  confined  to  one  building — the  new, 
large  one,  about  which  stretched  a  high  and 
strong  fence,  made  with  tongue-and-groove 
boards  so  that  no  prying  eyes  might  find  a  crack, 
even,  through  which  to  peer. 

In  and  out  of  the  other  buildings  the  workmen 
tyent  as  they  pleased,  though  there  were  not  many 
of  them,  for  Tom  and  his  father  were  devoting 
most  of  their  time  and  energies  to  what  was  tak 
ing  place  in  the  big,  new  structure.  But  herd 
there  was  an  entirely  different  procedure. 

Workmen  went  in  and  out,  to  be  sure,  but  each 
time  they  emerged  they  were  scrutinized  care 
fully,  and  when  they  went  in  they  had  to  exhibit 
their  passes  to  a  man  on  guard  at  the  single  en 
trance;  and  the  passes  were  not  scrutinized  per 
functorily,  either. 

27 


28         TOM  SWIFT  "AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

Near  the  building,  about  which  there  seemed 
to  be  an  air  of  mystery,  one  day,  a  week  after  the 
events  narrated  in  the  opening  chapters,  strolled 
the  giant  Koku.  Not  far  away,  raking  up  a  pile 
of  refuse,  was  Eradicate  Sampson,  the  aged  col 
ored  man  of  all  work.  Eradicate  approached 
nearer  and  nearer  the  entrance  to  the  building, 
pursuing  his  task  of  gathering  up  leaves,  dirt  and 
sticks  with  the  teeth  of  his  rake.  Then  Koku, 
who  had  been  lounging  on  a  bench  in  the  shade  of 
a  tree,  called: 

"No  more,  Eradicate!" 

"No  mo'  whut?"  asked  the  negro  quickly.  "I 
didn't  axt  yo'  fo'  nuffin  yit!" 

"No  more  come  here!"  said  the  giant,  pointing 
to  the  building  and  speaking  English  with  an 
.evident  effort.  "Master  say  no  one  come  too 
close." 

"Huh!  He  didn't  go  fo'  t'  mean  me!"  ex 
claimed  Eradicate.  "I  kin  go  anywheres;  I  kin!" 

"Not  here!"  and  Koku  interposed  his  giant 
frame  between  the  old  man  and  the  first  step 
leading  into  the  secret  building.  "You  no  com* 
in  here." 

"Who  say  so?" 

"Me — I  say  so!  I  on  guard.  I  what  you  call 
special  policeman — detectiff — no  let  enemies  in!" 

"Huh!     You's   a   hot   deteckertiff,    yo'    is!" 


QUEER  THINGS  29 

snorted  Eradicate.  "Anyhow,  dem  orders  don't 
mean  me!  I  kin  go  anywhere,  I  kin!" 

"Not  here!"  said  Koku  firmly.  "Master  Tom 
say  let  nobody  come  near  but  workmen  who  have 
got  writing-paper.  You  no  got!" 

"No,  but  I  kin  git  one,  an'  I's  gwine  t'  hab  it 
soon!  I'll  see  Massa  Tom,  dat's  whut  I  will.  I 
guess  yo'  ain't  de  only  deteckertiff  on  de  place. 
I  kin  go  on  guard,  too!"  and  Eradicate,  dropping 
his  rake,  strolled  away  in  his  temper  to  seek  the 
young  inventor. 

"Well,  Rad,  what  is  it?"  asked  Tom,  as  he  met 
the  colored  man.  The  young  inventor  was  on  his 
way  to  the  mysterious  shop.  "What  is  troubling 
you?" 

"It's  dat  dar  giant.  He  done  says  as  how  he's 
on  guard — a  deteckertiff — an'  I  can't  go  nigh  dat 
buildin'  t'  sweep  up  de  refuse." 

"Well,  that's  right,  Rad.  I'd  prefer  that  you 
keep  away.  I'm  doing  some  special  work  in  there 
and  it's " 

"Am  it  dangerous,  Massa  Tom?  I  ain't 
askeered!  Anybody  whut  kin  drive  mah  mule. 
Boomerang " 

"I  know,  Eradicate,  but  this  isn't  so  dangerous. 
It's  just  secret,  and  I  don't  want  too  many  peo 
ple  about.  You  can  go  anywhere  else  except 
there.  Koku  is  on  guard." 


30         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

"Den  can't  I  be,  Massa  Tom?"  asked  the  col 
ored  man  eagerly.  "I  kin  guard  an'  detect  same 
as  dat  low-down,  good-fo'-nuffin  white  trash 
Koku!" 

Tom  hesitated. 

"I  suppose  I  could  get  you  a  sort  of  officer's 
badge,"  he  mused,  half  aloud. 

"Dat's  whut  I  want!"  eagerly  exclaimed  Erad 
icate.  "I  ain't  gwine  hab  dat  Koku — dat  cocoa- 
nut — crowin'  ober  me!  I  kin  guard  ^L'  detect 
as  good's  anybody!" 

And  the  upshot  of  it  was  that  Eradicate  was 
given  a  badge,  and  put  on  a  special  post,  far 
enough  from  Koku  to  keep  the  two  from  quar 
reling,  and  where,  even  if  he  failed  in  keeping  a: 
proper  lookout,  the  old  servant  could  do  no  harm 
by  his  oversight. 

"It'll  please  him,  and  won't  hurt  us,"  said  Tom 
to  his  father.  "Koku  will  keep  out  any  prying 
persons." 

"I  suppose  you  are  doing  well  to  keep  it  a 
secret,  Tom,"  said  Mr.  Swift,  "but  it  seems  as  if 
you  might  announce  it  soon." 

"Perhaps  we  may,  Dad,  if  all  goes  well.  I've 
given  her  a  partial  shop-tryout,  and  she  works 
well.  But  there  is  still  plenty  to  do.  Did  I  tell 
you  about  meeting  Blakeson?" 

"Yes,  and  I  can't  understand  why  he  should  be 


QUEER  THINGS  31 

in  this  vicinity.  Do  you  think  he  has  had  any 
intimation  of  what  you  are  doing?" 

"It's  hard  to  say,  and  yet  I  would  not  be  sur 
prised.  When  Uncle  Sam  couldn't  keep  secret 
the  fact  of  our  first  soldiers  sailing  for  France, 
how  can  I  expect  to  keep  this  secret?  But  they 
won't  get  any  details  until  I'm  ready,  I'm  sure 
of  that." 

"Koku  is  a  good  discourager,"  said  Mr.  Swift, 
with  a  chuckle.  "You  couldn't  have  a  better 
guard,  Tom." 

"No,  and  if  I  can  keep  him  and  Eradicate  from 
trying  to  pull  off  rival  detective  stunts,  or  *de- 
teckertiff,'  as  Rad  calls  it,  I'll  be  all  right.  Now 
let's  have  another  go  at  that  carbureter.  There's 
our  weak  point,  for  it's  getting  harder  and  harder 
all  the  while  to  get  high-grade  gasolene,  and  we'll 
have  to  come  to  alcohol  of  low  proof,  or  kero 
sene,  I'm  thinking." 

"I  wouldn't  be  surprised,  Tom.  Well,  perhaps 
we  can  get  up  a  new  style  of  carbureter  that  will 
do  the  trick.  Now  look  at  this  needle  valve; 
I've  given  it  a  new  turn,"  and  father  and  son 
went  into  technical  details  connected  with  their 
latest  invention. 

These  were  busy  days  at  the  Swift  plant.  Men 
came  and  went — men  with  queerly  shaped  parcels 
frequently — and  they  were  admitted  to  the  big 


32          TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

new  building  after  first  passing  Eradicate  and 
then  Koku,  and  it  would  be  hard  to  say  which 
guard  was  the  more  careful.  Only,  of  course, 
Koku  had  the  final  decision,  and  more  than  one 
person  was  turned  back  after  Eradicate  had 
passed  him,  much  to  the  disgust  of  the  negro. 

"Pooh!  Dat  giant  don't  know  a  workman 
when  he  sees  'im!"  snorted  Eradicate.  "He  so 
lazy  his  own  se'f  dat  he  don't  know  a  workman! 
Ef  I  sees  a  spy,  Massa  Tom,  or  a  crook,  I's  gwine 
git  him,  suah  pop!" 

"I  hope  you  do,  Rad.  We  can't  afford  to  let 
this  secret  get  out,"  said  the  young  inventor. 

It  was  one  evening,  when  taking  a  short  cut  to 
his  home,  that  Mr.  Nestor,  the  father  of  Mary 
Nestor,  in  whom  Tom  was  more  than  ordinarily 
interested,  passed  not  far  from  the  big  enclosure 
which  was  guarded,  on  the  factory  side,  day  and 
night.  Inside,  though  out  of  sight  and  hidden 
by  the  high  fence,  were  other  guards. 

As  Mr.  Nestor  passed  along  the  fence,  rather 
vaguely  wondering  why  it  was  so  high,  tight  and 
strong,  he  felt  the  ground  trembling  beneath  his 
feet.  It  rumbled  and  shook  as  though  a  distant 
train  were  passing,  and  yet  there  was  none  due 
now,  for  Mr.  Nestor  had  just  left  one,  and  an 
other  would  not  arrive  for  an  hour. 

"That's  queer,"  mused  Mary's  father.     "If  I 


QUEER  THINGS  33 

didn't  know  to  the  contrary,  I'd  say  that  sounded 
like  heavy  guns  being  fired  from  a  distance,  or 
else  blasting.  It  seems  to  come  from  the  Swift 
place,"  he  went  on.  "I  wonder  what  they're  up 
to  in  there." 

Suddenly  the  rumbling  became  more  pro 
nounced,  and  mingled  with  it,  in  the  dusk  of  the 
evening,  were  the  shouts  of  men. 

"Look  out!"  some  one  cried.  "She's  going  for 
the  fence!" 

A  second  later  there  was  a  cracking  and  strain 
ing  of  boards,  and  the  fence  near  Mr.  Nestor 
bulged  out  as  though  something  big,  power 
ful  and  mighty  were  pressing  it  from  the  inner 
side. 

But  the  fence  held,  or  else  the  pressure  was 
removed,  for  the  bulge  went  back  into  place, 
though  some  of  the  boards  were  splintered. 

"Have  to  patch  that  up  in  the  morning,"  called 
another  voice,  and  Mr.  Nestor  recognized  it  as 
that  of  Tom  Swift. 

"What  queer  doings  are  going  on  here?" 
mused  Mary's  father.  "Have  they  got  a  wild  bull 
shut  up  in  there,  and  is  he  trying  to  get  out? 
Lucky  for  me  he  didn't,"  and  he  hurried  on,  the 
rumbling  noise  become  fainter  until  it  died  away 
altogether. 

That  night,  after  his  supper  and  while  reading 


34          TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

the  paper  and  smoking  a  cigar,  Mr.  Nestor  spoke 
to  his  daughter. 

"Mary,  have  you  seen  anything  of  Tom  Swift 
lately?" 

"Why,  yes,  Father.  He  was  over  for  a  little 
while  the  other  night,  but  he  didn't  stay  long. 
Why  do  you  ask?" 

"Oh,  nothing  special.  I  just  came  past  his 
place  and  I  heard  some  queer  noises,  that's  all. 
He's  up  to  some  more  of  his  tricks,  I  guess.  Has 
he  enlisted  yet?" 

"No." 

"Is  he  going  to?" 

"I  don't  know,"  and  Mary  seemed  a  bit  put  out* 
by  this  simple  question.  "What  do  you  mean  by 
his  tricks?"  she  asked,  and  a  close  observer  might 
have  thought  she  was  anxious  to  get  away  from 
the  subject  of  Tom's  enlistment. 

"Oh,  like  that  one  when  he  sent  you  something 
in  a  box  labeled  'dynamite,'  and  gave  us  all  a 
scare.  You  can't  tell  what  Tom  Swift  is  going 
to  do  next.  He's  up  to  something  now,  I'll 
wager,  and  I  don't  believe  any  good  will  come 
of  it." 

"You  didn't  think  so  after  he  sent  his  wireless 
message,  and  saved  us  from  Earthquake  Island," 
said  Mary,  smiling. 

"Hum!     Well,  that  was  different,"  snapped 


QUEER  THINGS  35 

Mr.  Nestor.  "This  time  I'm  sure  he's  up  to  some 
nonsense!  The  idea  of  crashing  down  a  fence! 
Why  doesn't  he  enlist  like  the  other  chaps,  or  sell 
Liberty  Bonds  like  Ned  Newton?"  and  Mr.  Nes 
tor  looked  sharply  at  his  daughter.  "Ned  gave 
up  a  big  salary  as  the  Swifts'  financial  man — a 
place  he  had  held  for  a  year — to  go  back  to  the 
bank  for  less,  just  so  he  could  help  the  Govern 
ment  in  the  financial  end  of  this  war.  Is  Tom 
doing  as  much  for  his  country?" 

"I'm  sure  I  don't  know,"  answered  Mary;  and 
soon  after,  with  averted  face,  she  left  the  room. 

"Hum!  Queer  goings  on,"  mused  Mr.  Nestor. 
"Tom  Swift  may  be  all  right,  but  he's  got  an  un 
balanced  streak  in  him  that  will  bear  looking  out 
for,  that's  what  I  think!" 

And  having  settled  this  matter,  at  least  to  his 
own  satisfaction,  Mr.  Nestor  resumed  his  smok 
ing  and  reading. 

A  little  later  the  bell  rang.  There  was  a  mur 
mur  of  voices  in  the  hall,  and  Mr.  Nestor,  half 
listening,  heard  a  voice  he  knew. 

"There's  Tom  Swift  now !"  he  exclaimed.  "I'm 
going  to  find  out  why  he  doesn't  enlist!" 


CHAPTER   V 

"IS    HE   A   SLACKER?" 

MR.  NESTOR,  whatever  else  he  was,  proved  to 
be  a  prudent  father.  He  did  not  immediately  go 
into  the  front  room,  whither  Mary  and  Tom  has 
tened,  their  voices  mingling  in  talk  and  laughter. 

Mr.  Nestor,  after  leaving  the  young  folks  alone 
for  a  while,  with  a  loud  "Ahem!"  and  a  rattling 
of  his  paper  as  he  laid  it  aside,  started  for  the; 
parlor. 

"Good-evening,  Mr.  Nestor!"  said  Tom,  rising 
to  shake  hands  with  the  father  of  his  young  and 
pretty  hostess. 

"Hqjlo,  Tom!"  was  the  cordial  greeting,  in  re 
turn.  "What's  going  on  up  at  your  place?"  went 
*>n  Mr.  Nestor,  as  he  took  a  chair. 

"Oh,  nothing  very  special,"  Tom  answered. 
"We're  turning  out  different  kinds  of  machines 
as  usual,  and  dad  and  I  are  experimenting,  also 
as  usual." 

36 


"75"  HE  A  SLACKER?"  37 

"I  suppose  so.  But  what  nearly  broke  the 
fence  to-night?" 

Tom  started,  and  looked  quickly  at  his  host. 

"Were  you  there?"  he  asked  quickly. 

"Well,  I  happened  to  be  passing — took  a  short 
cut  home — and  I  heard  some  queer  goings  on  at 
your  place.  I  was  speaking  to  Mary  about  them, 
and  wondering " 

"Father,  perhaps  Tom  doesn't  want  to  talk 
about  his  inventions,"  interrupted  Mary.  "You 
know  some  of  them  are  secret " 

"Oh,  I  wasn't  exactly  asking  for  information!" 
exclaimed  Mr.  Nestor  quickly.  "I  just  happened 
to  hear  the  fence  crash,  and  I  was  wondering  if 
something  was  coming  out  at  me.  Didn't  know 
but  what  that  giant  of  yours  was  on  a  rampage, 
Tom,"  and  he  laughed. 

"No,  it  wasn't  anything  like  that,"  and  Tom's 
voice  was  more  sober  than  the  occasion  seemed 
to  warrant.  "It  was  one  of  our  new  machines, 
and  it  didn't  act  just  right.  No  great  damage 
was  done,  though.  How  do  you  find  business, 
Mr.  Nestor,  since  the  war  spirit  has  grown 
stronger?"  asked  Tom,  and  it  seemed  to  both 
Mary  and  her  father  that  the  young  inventor  de 
liberately  changed  the  subject. 

"Well,  it  isn't  all  it  might  be,"  said  the  other. 
"It's  hard  to  get  good  help.  A  lot  of  our  boys 


38          TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

jenlisted,  and  some  were  taken  in  the  draft.  By 
the  way,  Tom,  have  they  called  on  you  yet?" 

"No.    Not  yet" 

"You  didn't  enlist?" 

"No." 

"Ned  Newton  tried  to,"  broke  in  Mary,  "but 
the  quota  for  this  locality  was  filled,  and  they  told 
him  he'd  better  wait  for  the  draft.  He  wouldn't 
do  that  and  tried  again.  Then  the  bank  people 
heard  about  it  and  had  him  exempted.  They  said 
he  was  too  valuable  to  them,  and  he  has  been 
doing  remarkably  well  in  selling  Liberty  Bonds!" 
and  Mary's  eyes  sparkled  with  her  emotions. 

"Yes,  Ned  is  a  crackerjack  salesman!"  agreed 
fTcm,  no  less  enthusiastically.  "He's  sold  more 
bonds,  in  proportion,  for  his  bank,  than  any  other 
in  this  county.  Dad  and  I  both  took  some,  and 
have  promised  him  more.  I  am  glad  now  that 
we  let  him  go,  although  we  valued  his  services 
highly.  We  hope  to  have  him  back  later." 

"He  can  put  me  down  for  more  bonds  too!" 
said  Mr.  Nestor.  "I'm  going  to  see  Germany 
beaten  if  it  takes  every  last  dollar  I  have!" 

"That's  what  I  say!"  cried  Mary.  "I  took  out 
all  my  savings,  except  a  little  I'm  keeping  to  buy 
a  wedding  present  for  Jennie  Morse.  Did  you 
know  she  was  going  to  get  married,  Tom?"  she 
asked. 


"IS  HE  A  SLACKER?"  39 

"I  heard  so." 

"Well,  all  but  what  I  want  for  a  wedding  pres 
ent  to  her  has  gone  into  Liberty  Bonds.  Isn't 
this  a  history-making  time,  Tom?" 

"Indeed  it  is,  Mary!" 

"Everybody  who  has  a  part  in  it — whether  he 
fights  as  a  soldier  or  only  knits  like  the  Red  Cross 
girls — will  be  telling  about  it  for  years  after," 
went  on  the  girl,  and  she  looked  at  Tom 
eagerly. 

"Yes,"  he  agreed.  "These  are  queer  times. 
We  don't  know  exactly  where  we're  at.  A  lot  of 
our  men  have  been  called.  We  tried  to  have 
some  of  them  exempted,  and  did  manage  it  in  a 
few  cases." 

"You  did?"  cried  Mr.  Nestor,  as  if  in  surprise. 
"You  stopped  men  from  going  to  war!" 

"Only  so  they  could  work  on  airship  motors 
for  the  Government,"  Tom  quietly  explained. 

"Oh!  Well,  of  course,  that's  part  of  the 
game,"  agreed  Mary's  father.  "A  lot  more  of 
our  boys  are  going  off  next  week.  Doesn't  it 
make  you  thrill^  Tom,  when  you  see  them  march 
ing  off,  even  if  they  haven't  their  uniforms  yet? 
Jove,  if  I  wasn't  too  old,  I'd  go  in  a  minute!" 

"Father!  "cried  Mary. 

"Yes,  I  would!"  he  declared.  "The  German 
government  has  got  to  be  beaten,  and  we've  got 


40         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

to  do  our  bit;  everybody  has — man,  woman  and 
child!" 

"Yes,"  agreed  Tom,  in  a  low  voice,  "that's 
very  true.  But  every  one,  in  a  sense,  has  to  judge 
for  himself  what  the  'bit'  is.  We  can't  all  do  the 
same." 

There  was  a  little  silence,  and  then  Mary  went 
over  to  the  piano  and  played.  It  was  a  rather 
welcome  relief,  under  the  circumstances,  from 
the  conversation. 

"Mary,  what  do  you  think  of  Tom?"  asked 
Mr.  Nestor,  when  the  visitor  had  gone. 

"What  do  I  think  of  him?"    And  she  blushed. 

"I  mean  about  his  not  enlisting.  Do  you  think 
he's  a  slacker?" 

"A  slacker?    Why,  Father!" 

"Oh,  I  don't  mean  he's  afraid.  We've  seen 
proof  enough  of  his  courage,  and  all  that  But  I 
mean  don't  you  think  he  wants  stirring  up  a  bit?" 

"He  is  going  to  Washington  to-morrow, 
Father.  He  told  me  so  to-night.  And  it  may 

"Oh,  well,  then  maybe  it's  all  right,"  hastily 
said  Mr.  Nestor.  "He  may  be  going  to  get  a 
commission  in  the  engineer  corps.  It  isn't  like 
Tom  Swift  to  hang  back,  and  yet  it  does  begin 
to  look  as  though  he  cared  more  for  his  queer 
inventions — machines  that  butt  down  fences — ' 


"IS  HE  A  SLACKER?"  41 

than  for  helping  Uncle  Sam.     But  I'll  reserve 
judgment." 

"You'd  better,  Father!"  and  Mary  laughed — a 
little.  Yet  there  was  a  worried  look  on  her  face. 

During  the  next  few  nights  Mr.  Nestor  made 
it  a  habit  to  take  the  short  cut  from  the  railroad 
station,  coming  past  the  big  fence  that  enclosed 
one  particular  building  of  the  Swift  plant. 

"I  wonder  if  there's  a  hole  where  I  could  look 
through,"  said  Mr.  Nestor  to  himself.  "Of 
course  I  don't  believe  in  spying  on  what  another 
man  is  doing,  and  yet  I'm  too  good  a  friend  of 
Tom's  to  want  to  see  him  make  a  fool  of  him 
self.  He  ought  to  be  in  the  army,  or  helping 
Uncle  Sam  in  some  way.  And  yet  if  he  spends 
all  his  time  on  some  foolish  contraption,  like  a 
new  kind  of  traction  plow,  what  good  is  that? 
If  I  could  get  a  glimpse  of  it,  I  might  drop  a 
friendly  hint  in  his  ear." 

But  there  were  no  cracks  in  the  fence,  or,  if 
there  were,  it  was  too  dark  to  see  them,  and  also 
too  dark  to  behold  anything  on  the  other  side  of 
the  barrier.  So  Mr.  Nestor,  wondering  much, 
kept  on  his  way. 

It  was  a  day  or  so  after  this  that  Ned  Newton 
paid  a  visit  to  the  Swift  home.  Mr.  Swift  was 
not  in  the  house,  being  out  in  one  of  the  various 
buildings,  Mrs.  Baggert  said. 


42         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

"Where's  Tom?"  asked  the  bond  salesman. 

"Oh,  he  hasn't  come  back  from  Washington 
yet,"  answered  the  housekeeper. 

"He  is  making  a  long  stay." 

"Yes,  he  went  about  a  week  ago  on  some  busi 
ness.  But  we  expect  him  back  to-day. " 

"Well,  then  I'll  see  him.  I  called  to  ask  if  Mr. 
Swift  didn't  want  to  take  a  few  more  bonds. 
We  want  to  double  our  allotment  for  Shopton, 
and  beat  out  some  of  the  other  towns  in  this 
section.  I'll  go  to  see  Mr.  Swift." 

On  his  way  to  find  Tom's  father  Ned  passed 
the  big  building  in  front  of  which  Eradicate  and 
Koku  were  on  guard.  They  nodded  to  Ned,  who 
passed  them,  wondering  much  as  to  what  it  was 
3Tom  was  so  secretive  about. 

"It's  the  first  time  I  remember  when  he  worked 
on  an  invention  without  telling  me  something 
about  it,"  mused  Ned.  "Well,  I  suppose  it 
will  all  come  out  in  good  time.  Anything  new, 
Rad?" 

"No,  Massa  Ned,  nurfin  much.  I'm  detectin* 
around  heah;  keepin'  Dutchmen  spies  away!" 

"And  Koku  is  helping  you,  I  suppose?" 

"Whut,  himf  Dat  big,  good-fo'-nuffin  white 
trash?  No,  sah!  I's  detectin'  by  mahse'f,  dat's 
whut  I  is!"  and  Eradicate  strutted  proudly  up 
and  down  on  his  allotted  part  of  the  beat,  being 


"IS  HE  A  SLACKER?"  43 

careful  not  to  approach  the  building  too  closely, 
for  that  was  Koku's  ground. 

Ned  smiled,  and  passed  on.  He  found  Mr. 
Swift,  secured  his  subscription  to  more  bonds, 
and  was  about  to  leave  when  he  heard  a  call 
down  the  road  and  saw  Tom  coming  in  his  small 
racing  car,  which  had  been  taken  to  the  depot  by 
one  of  the  workmen. 

"Hello,  old  man!"  cried  Ned  affectionately,  as 
his  chum  alighted  with  a  jump.  "Where  have 
you  been?" 

"Down  to  Washington.  Had  a  bit  of  a  chat 
with  the  President  and  gave  him  some  of  my 
•views." 

"About  the  war,  I  suppose?"  laughed  Ned 

"Yes." 

"Did  you  get  your  commission?" 

"Commission?"  And  there  was  a  wondering 
look  on  Tom's  face. 

"Yes.  Mary  Nestor  said  she  thought  maybe 
you  were  going  to  Washington  to  take  an  exam 
ination  for  the  engineering  corps  or  something 
like  that.  Did  you  get  made  an  officer?" 

"No,"  answered  Tom  slowly.  "I  went  to 
Washington  to  get  exempted." 

"Exempted?"  cried  Ned,  and  his  voice  sounded 
strained. 


CHAPTER   VI 

SEEING  THINGS 

FOR  a  moment  Tom  Swift  looked  at  his  chum. 
Then  something  of  what  was  passing  in  the  mind 
of  the  young  bond  salesman  must  have  been  re 
flected  to  Tom,  for  he  said : 

"Look  here,  old  man;  I  know  it  may  seem  a 
bit  strange  to  go  to  all  that  trouble  to  get  ex 
empted  from  the  draft,  to  which  I  am  eligible, 
but,  believe  me,  there's  a  reason.  I  can't  say 
anything  now,  but  I'll  tell  you  as  soon  as  I  can — . 
tell  everybody,  in  fact.  Just  now  it  isn't  in  shape 
to  talk  about." 

"Oh,  that's  all  right,  Tom,"  and  Ned  tried  tc 
make  his  voice  sound  natural.  "I  was  just  won 
dering,  that's  all.  I  wanted  to  go  to  the  front 
the  worst  way,  but  they  wouldn't  let  me.  I  was 
sort  of  hoping  you  could,  and  come  back  to  tell 
me  about  it." 

"I  may  yet,  Ned." 

"You  may?    Why,  I  thought >" 

44 


SEEING  THINGS  45 

"Oh,  I'm  only  exempted  for  a  time.  I've  got 
certain  things  to  do,  and  I  couldn't  do  'em  if  I 
enlisted  or  was  drafted.  So  I've  been  excused 
for  a  time.  Now  I've  got  a  pile  of  work  to  do. 
What  are  you  up  to  Ned?  Same  old  story?" 

"Liberty  Bonds — yes.  Your  father  just  took 
some  more." 

"And  so  will  I,  Ned.  I  can  do  that,  anyhow, 
even  if  I  don't  enlist.  Put  me  down  for  another 
two  thousand  dollars'  worth." 

"Say,  Tom,  that's  fine!  That  will  make  my 
share  bigger  than  I  counted  on.  Shopton  will 
beat  the  record." 

"That's  good.  We  ought  to  pull  strong  and 
hearty  for  our  home  town.  How's  everything 
else?" 

"Oh,  so-so.  I  see  Koku  and  Eradicate  trying 
to  outdo  one  another  in  guarding  that  part  of 
your  plant,"  and  Ned  nodded  toward  the  big  new; 
building. 

"Yes,  I  had  to  let  Rad  play  detective.  Not  that 
he>  can  do  anything — he's  too  old.  But  it  keeps 
him  and  Koku  from  quarreling  all  the  while.  I've 
got  to  be  pretty  careful  about  that  shop.  It's  got 

a  secret  in  it  that Well,  the  less  said  about 

it  the  better." 

"You're  getting  my  curiosity  aroused,  Tom," 
remarked  Ned. 


46         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

"It'll  have  to  go  unsatisfied  for  a  while.  Wait 
a  bit  and  I'll  give  you  a  ride.  I've  got  to  go  over 
to  Sackett  on  business,  and  if  you're  going  that 
;way  I'll  take  you." 

"What  in?" 
.     "The  Hawk." 

"That's  me!"  cried  Ned.  "I  haven'fc  been  in 
an  aircraft  for  some  time." 

"Tell  Miles  to  run  her  out,"  requested  Tom. 
"I've  got  to  go  in  and  say  hello  to  dad  n  minute, 
and  then  I'll  be  with  you." 

"Seems  like  something  was  in  the  wfnd,  Tom 
* — big  doings?"  hinted  Ned. 

"Yes,  maybe  there  is.  It  all  depend*  on  how 
she  turns  out" 

"You  might  be  speaking  of  the  Hawk  or — < 
Mary  Nestor!"  said  Ned,  with  a  sidelong  look  at 
his  chum. 

"As  it  happens,  it's  neither  one,"  said  Tom, 
and  then  he  hastened  away,  to  return  shortly  and 
guide  his  fleet  little  airship,  the  Hawk,  on  her 
aerial  journey. 

From  then  on,  at  least  for  some  time,  neither 
Tom  nosi  Ned  mentioned  the  matters  they  had 
been  discussing^ — Tom's  failure  to  enlist,  his  ex- 
femption,  and  what  was  being  built  in  the  closely 
guarded  shop. 

Tom's  business  in  Sackett  did  not  take 


SEEING  THINGS  47 

long,  and  then  he  and  Ned  went  for  a  little  ride 
in  the  air. 

"It's  like  old  times!"  exclaimed  Ned,  his  eyes 
shining,  though  Tom  could  not  see  them  for  two 
reasons.  One  was  that  Ned  was  sitting  behind 
him,  and  the  other  was  that  Ned  wore  heavy  gog 
gles,  as  did  the  young  pilot.  Also,  they  had  to 
carry  on  their  talk  through  the  speaking  tube 
arrangement. 

"Yes,  it  is  a  bit  like  old  times,"  agreed  Tom. 
"We've  had  some  great  old  experiences  together, 
Ned,  haven't  we?" 

"We  surely  have!  I  wonder  if  v\re'll  have  any 
more  ?  When  we  were  in  the  submarine,  and  in 

your  big  airship Say,  that  big  one  is  the  one 

I  always  liked!    I  like  big  things." 

"Do  you?"  asked  Tom.  "Well,  maybe,  when 
I  get " 

But  Tom  did  not  finish,  for  the  Hawk  unex 
pectedly  poked  her  nose  into  an  empty  pocket  in 
the  air  just  then,  and  needed  a  firm  hand  on  the 
controls.  Furthermore,  Tom  decided  against 
making  the  confidence  that  was  on  the  tip  of  his 
tongue. 

At  last  the  aircraft  was  straightened  out  and 
the  pilot  guided  her  on  toward  the  army  encamp 
ment. 

"That's  the  place  I'd  like  to  be,"  called  Ned 


48         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

through  the  tube,  as  the  faint,  sweet  notes  of  a 
bugle  floated  up  from  the  parade  ground. 

"Yes,  it  would  be  great,"  admitted  Tom.  "But 
there  are  other  things  to  do  for  Uncle  Sam  be 
sides  wearing  khaki." 

"Tom's  up  to  some  game,"  mused  Ned.  "I 
mustn't  judge  him  too  hastily,  or  I  might  make  a 
mistake.  And  Mary  mustn't,  either.  I'll  tell 
her  so." 

For  Mary  Nestor  had  spoken  to  Ned  concern 
ing  Tom,  and  the  curiously  secretive  air  about 
certain  of  his  activities.  And  the  girl,  moreover, 
had  spoken  rather  coldly  of  her  friend.  Ned  did 
not  like  this.  It  was  not  like  Mary  and  Tom  to 
be  at  odds. 

Once  more  the  Hawk  came  to  the  ground,  this 
time  near  the  airship  sheds  adjoining  the  Swift 
works.  Just  as  Tom  and  Ned  alighted,  one  of 
the  workmen  summoned  the  young  inventor  to 
ward  the  shop,  which  was  so  closely  guarded  by 
Koku  and  Eradicate  on  the  outside. 

"I'll  have  to  leave  you,  Ned,"  remarked  Tom, 
as  he  turned  away  from  his  chum.  "There's  a 
conference  on  about  a  new  invention." 

"Oh,  that's  all  right.  Business  is  business,  you 
know.  I've  got  some  bond  calls  to  make  myself. 
I'll  see  you  later." 

"Oh,  by  the  way,  Ned!"  exclaimed  Tom,  turn- 


SEEING  THINGS  49 

ing  back  for  a  moment,  "I  met  an  old  friend  the 
other  day;  or  rather  an  olo?  enemy." 

"Hum!  When  you  spoke  first,  I  thought  you 
might  mean  Professor  Swyington  Bumper,  that 
delightful  scientist,"  remarked  Ned.  "But  he 
surely  was  no  enemy." 

"No;  but  I  meant  some  one  I  met  about  the 
same  time.  I  met  Blakeson,  one  of  the  rival  con 
tractors  when  I  helped  dig  the  big  tunnel." 

"Is  that  so?    Where'd  you  meet  him?" 

"Right  around  here.  It  was  certainly  a  sur 
prise,  and  at  first  I  couldn't -place  him.  Then  the 
memory  of  his  face  came  back  to  me,"  and  Tom 
related  the  incident  which  had  taken  place  the 
day  he  and  Mr.  Damon  were  out  in  the  Hawk. 

"What's  he  doing  around  here?"  asked  Ned. 

"That's  more  than  I  can  say,"  Tom  answered. 

"Up  to  no  good,  I'll  wager!" 

"I  agree  with  you,"  came  from  Tom.  "But 
I'm  on  the  watch." 

"That's  wise,  Tom.    Well,  I'll  see  you  later." 

During  the  week  which  followed  this  talk  Ned 
was  very  busy  on  Liberty  Bond  work,  and,  he 
made  no  doubt,  his  chum  was  engaged  also.  This 
prevented  them  from  meeting,  but  finally  Ned, 
one  evening,  decided  to  walk  over  to  the  Swift 
home. 

"I'll  pay  Tom  a  bit  of  a  call,"  he  mused. 


50         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

"Maybe  he'll  feel  more  like  talking  now.  Some 
of  the  boys  are  asking  why  he  doesn't  enlist,  and 
maybe  if  I  tell  him  that  he'll  make  some  explana 
tion  that  will  quiet  things  down  a  bit.  It's  a 
shame  that  Tom  should  be  talked  about" 

With  this  intention  in  view,  Ned  kept  on  to- 
•ward  his  chum's  house,  and  he  was  about  to  turn 
in  through  a  small  grove  of  trees,  which  would 
lead  to  a  path  across  the  fields,  when  the  young 
txmd  salesman  was  surprised  to  hear  some  one 
running  toward  him.  He  could  see  no  one,  for 
the  path  wound  in  and  out  among  the  trees,  but 
the  noise  was  plain. 

"Some  one  in  a  hurry,"  mused  Ned. 

A  moment  later  he  caught  sight  of  a  small  lad 
named  Harry  Tel  ford  running  toward  him.  The 
boy  had  his  hat  in  his  hand,  and  was  speeding 
through  the  fast-gathering  darkness  as  though 
some  one  were  after  him. 

" What's  the  rush  ?  "  asked  Ned.  "  Playing  cops 
and  robbers?"  That  was  a  game  Tom  and  Ned 
had  enjoyed  in  their  younger  days. 

"I — I'm  runnin'  away!"  panted  Harry.  "I — I 
seen  something!" 

"You  saw  something?"  repeated  Ned.  "What 
was  it — a  ghost?"  and  he  laughed,  thinking  the 
boy  would  do  the  same. 

"No,  it  wasn't  no  ghost!"  declared  Harry,  cast* 


SEEING  THINGS  51 

ing  a  look  over  his  shoulder.  "It  was  a  wild  ele 
phant  that  I  saw,  and  it's  down  in  a  big  yard  with 
a  fence  around  it." 

"Where's  that?"  asked  Ned.  "The  circus 
hasn't  come  to  town  this  evening,  has  it?" 

"No,"  answered  Harry,  "it  wasn't  no  circus. 
I  saw  this  elephant  down  in  the  big  yard  back  of 
one  of  Mr.  Swift's  factories." 

"Oh,  down  there,  was  it  I"  exclaimed  Ned. 
"What  was  it  like?" 

"Well,  I  was  walking  along  the  top  of  the  hill,"' 
explained  Harry,  "and  there's  one  place  where,  if 
you  climb  a  tree,  you  can  look  right  down  in  the 
big  fenced-in  yard.  I  guess  I'm  about  the  only 
one  that  knows  about  it." 

"I  don't  believe  Tom  does,"  mused  Ned,  "or 
he'd  have  had  that  tree  cut  down.  He  doesn't 
want  any  spying,  I  take  it.  Well,  what'd  you 
see?"  he  asked  Harry  aloud. 

"Saw  an  elephant,  I  tell  you!"  insisted  the 
younger  boy.  "I  was  in  the  tree,  looking  down,  for 
a  lot  of  us  kids  has  tried  to  peek  through  the  fence 
and  couldn't.  I  wanted  to  see  what  was  there." 

"And  did  you?"  asked  Ned. 

"I  sure  did!  And  it  scared  me,  too,"  admitted 
Harry.  "All  at  once,  when  I  was  lookin',  I  saw 
the  big  doors  at  the  back  of  the  shed  open,  and 
the  elephant  waddled  out." 


62         TOM  SWiFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

"Are  you  sure  you  weren't  'seeing  things/  like 
the  little  boy  in  the  story?"  asked  Ned. 

"Well,  I  sure  did  see  something!"  insisted 
Harry.  "It  was  a  great  big  gray  thing,  bigger'n 
any  elephant  I  ever  saw  in  any  circus.  It  didn't 
seem  to  have  any  tail  or  trunk,  or  even  legs,  but 
it  went  slow,  just  like  an  elephant  does,  and  it 
shook  the  ground,  it  stepped  so  hard!" 

"Nonsense!"  cried  Ned. 

"Sure  I  saw  it!"  cried  Harry.  "Anyhow,"  he 
added,  after  a  moment's  thought,  "it  was  as  big 
as  an  elephant,  though  not  like  any  I  ever  saw." 

"What  did  it  do?"  asked  Ned.  " 

"Well,  it  moved  around  and  then  it  started  for 
the  fence  nearest  me,  where  I  was  up  in  the  tree. 
I  thought  it  might  have  seen  me,  even  though  it 
was  gettin'  dark,  and  it  might  bust  through;  so 
Iran!" 

"Hum!  Well,  you  surely  were  seeing  things," 
murmured  Ned,  but,  while  he  made  light  of  what 
the  boy  told  him,  the  young  bank  clerk  was 
thinking : 

"What  is  Tom  up  to  now?" 


CHAPTER   VII 

UP  A  TREE 

"WANT  to  come  and  have  a  look?"  asked! 
Harry,  as  Ned  paused  in  the  patch  of  woods, 
which  were  in  deeper  darkness  than  the  rest  of 
the  countryside,  for  night  was  fast  falling. 

"Have  a  look  at  what?"  asked  Ned,  who  was 
thinking  many  thoughts  just  then. 

"At  the  elephant  I  saw  back  of  the  Swift  fac 
tory.  I  wouldn't  be  skeered  if  you  came  along." 

"Well,  I'm  going  over  to  see  Tom  Swift,  any 
how,"  answered  Ned,  "so  I'll  walk  that  way. 
You  can  come  if  you  like.  I  don't  care  about 
spying  on  other  people's  property " 

"I  wasn't  spyin'!"  exclaimed  Harry  quickly. 
"I  just  happened  to  look.  And  then  I  seen  some- 
tiing." 

"Well,  come  on,"  suggested  Ned.  "If  there's 
anything  there,  we'll  have  a  peep  at  it." 

His  idea  was  not  to  try  to  see  what  Tom  was 
evidently  endeavoring  to  conceal,  but  it  was  to 

53 


'54          TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

observe  whence  Harry  had  made  his  observation, 
and  be  in  a  position  to  tell  Tom  to  guard  against 
unexpected  lookers-on  from  that  direction. 

During  the  walk  back  along  the  course  over 
which  Harry  had  run  so  rapidly  a  little  while 
before,  Ned  and  the  boy  talked  of  what  the  lat 
ter  had  seen. 

"Do  you  think  it  could  be  some  new  kind  of 
elephant?"  asked  Harry.  "You  know  Tom  Swift 
brought  back  a  big  giant  from  one  o-f  his  trips, 
and  maybe  he's  got  a  bigger  elephant  than  any 
one  ever  saw  before." 

"Nonsense!"  laughed  Ned.  "In  the  first  place, 
Tom  hasn't  been  on  any  trip,  of  late,  except  to 
Washington,  and  the  only  kind  of  elephants  there 
are  white  ones." 

"Really?"  asked  Harry. 

"No,  that  was  a  joke,"  explained  Ned.  "Any 
how,  Tom  hasn't  any  giant  elephants  concealed 
up  his  sleeve,  I'm  sure  of  that. " 

"But  what  could  this  be?"  asked  Harry.  "It 
moved  just  like  some  big  animal." 

"Probably  some  piece  of  machinery  Tom  was 
having  carted  from  one  shop  to  another, "  went  on 
the  young  bank  clerk.  "Most  likely  he  had  it 
covered  with  a  big  piece  of  canvas  to  keep  off 
the  dew,  and  it  was  that  you  saw." 

"No,  it  wasn't!"  insisted  Harry,  but  he  could 


UP  A  TREE  55 

not  give  any  further  details  of  what  he  had  seen 
so  that  Ned  could  recognize  it.  They  kept  on 
until  they  reached  the  hill,  at  the  bottom  of  which 
Was  the  Swift  home  and  the  grounds  on  which 
the  various  shops  were  erected. 

"Here's  the  place  where  you  can  look  down 
right  into  the  yard  with  the  high  fence  around 
it,"  explained  Harry,  as  he  indicated  the  spot. 

"I  can't  see  anything." 

"You  have  to  climb  up  the  tree,"  Harry  went 
on.  "Here,  this  is  the  one,  and  he  indicated  a 
stunted  and  gnarled  pine,  the  green  branches  of 
which  would  effectually  screen  any  one  who  once 
got  in  it  a  few  feet  above  the  ground. 

"Well,  I  may  as  well  have  a  look,"  decided 
Ned.  "It  can't  do  Tom  any  harm,  and  it  may  be 
of  some  service  to  him.  Here  goes!" 

Up  into  the  tree  he  scrambled,  not  without 
some  difficulty,  for  the  branches  were  close  to 
gether  and  stiff,  and  Ned  tore  his  coat  in  the  ef 
fort.  But  he  finally  got  a  position  where,  to  his 
surprise,  he  could  look  down  into  the  very  en 
closure  from  which  Tom  was  so  particular  to 
keep  prying  eyes. 

"You  can  see  right  down  in  it!"  Ned  ex 
claimed. 

"I  told  you  so,"  returned  Harry.  "But  do  you 
see— it?" 


56          TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

Ned  looked  long  and  carefully.  It  was  lighter, 
now  that  they  were  out  of  the  clump  of  woods, 
and  he  had  the  advantage  of  having  the  last  glow 
of  the  sunset  at  his  back.  Even  with  that  it  was 
difficult  to  make  out  objects  on  the  surface  of  the 
enclosed  field  some  hundred  or  more  feet  below. 

"Do  you  see  anything?"  asked  Harry  again. 

"No,  I  can't  say  I  do,"  Ned  answered.  "The 
place  seems  to  be  deserted." 

"Well,  there  was  something  there,"  insisted 
Harry.  "Maybe  you  aren't  lookin'  at  the  right 
place. " 

"Have  a  look  yourself,  then,"  suggested  Ned, 
as  he  got  down,  a  task  no  more  to  his  liking  than. 
the  climb  upward  had  been. 

Harry  made  easier  work  of  it,  being  smaller 
and  more  used  to  climbing  trees,  a  luxury  Ned 
had,  perforce,  denied  himself  since  going  to  work 
in  the  bank. 

Harry  peered  about,  and  then,  with  a  sigh  that 
had  in  it  somewhat  of  disappointment,  said : 

"No;  there's  nothing  there  now.  But  I  did  see 
something." 

"Are  you  sure?"  asked  Ned. 

"Positive!"  asserted  the  other. 

"Well,  whatever  it  was — some  bit  of  machin* 
ery  he  was  moving,  I  fancy — Tom  has  taken  it 
in  now,"  remarked  Ned.  "Better  not  say  any- 


571 

thing  about  this,  Harry.  Tom  mightn't  like  it 
known." 

"No,  I  won't" 

"And  don't  come  here  again  to  look.  I  know; 
you  like  to  see  strange  things,  but  if  you'll  wait 
I'll  ask  Tom,  as  soon  as  it's  ready,  to  let  you  have 
a  closer  view  of  whatever  it  was  you  saw.  Bet 
ter  keep  away  from  this  tree." 

"I  will,"  promised  the  younger  lad.  "But  I'd 
like  to  know  what  it  was— if  it  really  was  a  giant 
elephant.  Say!  if  a  fellow  had  a  troop  of  them 
he  could  have  a  lot  of  fun  with  'em,  couldn't  he?" 

"How?"  asked  Ned,  hardly  conscious  of  what 
his  companion  was  saying. 

"Why,  he  could  dress  'em  up  in  coats  of  mail, 
like  the  old  knights  used  to  wear,  and  turn  'em 
loose  against  the  Germans.  Think  of  a  regiment 
of  elephants,  wearin'  armor  plates  like  a  battle 
ship,  carryin'  on  their  backs  a  lot  of  soldiers  with 
machine  guns  and  chargin'  against  Fritz! 
Cracky,  that  would  be  a  sight!" 

"I  should  say  so!"  agreed  Ned,  with  a  laugh. 
"There's  nothing  the  matter  with  your  imagina 
tion,  Harry,  my  boy!" 

"And  maybe  that's  what  Tom's  doin' !" 

"What  do  you  mean?" 

"I  mean  maybe  he  is  trainin'  elephants  to  fight 
in  the  war.  You  know  he  made  an  aerial  war- 


S8         TOM  SWIFT  'AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

ship,  so  why  couldn't  he  have  a  lot  of  armor' 
plated  elephants?" 

"Oh,  I  suppose  he  could  if  he  wanted  to,"  ad 
mitted  Ned.  "But  I  guess  he  isn't  doing  that. 
Don't  get  to  going  too  fast  in  high  speed,  Harry, 
or  you  may  have  nightmare.  Well,  I'm  going 
clown  to  see  Tom." 

"And  you  won't  tell  him  I  was  peekin'?" 

"Not  if  you  don't  do  it  again.  I'll  advise  him 
to  have  that  tree  cut  down,  though.  It's  too  good 
a  vantage  spot." 

Harry  turned  and  went  in  the  direction  of  his 
home,  while  Ned  kept  on  down  the  hill  toward 
the  house  of  his  chum.  The  young  bond  sales 
man  was  thinking  of  many  things  as  he  tramped 
along,  and  among  them  was  the  information 
Harry  had  just  given. 

But  Ned  did  not  pay  a  visit  to  his  chum  that 
evening.  When  he  reached  the  house  he  found 
that  Tom  had  gone  out,  leaving  no  word  as  to 
when  he  would  be  back. 

"Oh,  well,  I  can  tell  him  to-morrow,"  thought 
Ned. 

It  was  not,  however,  until  two  days  later  that 
Ned  found  the  time  to  visit  Tom  again.  On  this 
occasion,  as  before,  he  took  the  road  through  the 
clump  of  woods  where  he  had  seen  Harry  run 
ning. 


UP  "A  TREE  59 

"And  while  I'm  about  it,"  mused  Ned,  "I  may 
as  well  go  on  to  the  place  where  the  tree  stands 
and  make  sure,  by  daylight,  what  I  only  partially 
surmised  in  the  evening — that  Tom's  place  can  be 
looked  down  on  from  that  vantage  point." 

Sauntering  slowly  along,  for  he  was  in  no  spe 
cial  hurry,  having  the  remainder  of  the  day  to 
himself,  Ned  approached  the  hill  where  the  tre? 
stood  from  which  Harry  had  said  he  had  seen 
what  he  took  to  be  a  giant  elephant,  perhaps  in 
armor. 

"It's  a  good  clear  day,"  observed  Ned,  "and 
fine  for  seeing.  I  wonder  if  I'll  be  able  to  see 
anything." 

It  was  necessary  first  to  ascend  the  hill  to  a 
point  where  it  overhung,  in  a  measure,  the  Swift 
property,  though  the  holdings  of  Tom  and  his 
father  were  some  distance  beyond  the  eminence. 
The  tree  from  which  Ned  and  Harry  had  made 
their  observations  was  on  a  knob  of  the  hill,  the 
stunted  pine  standing  out  from  among  others 
like  it. 

"Well,  here  goes  for  another  torn  coat," 
grimly  observed  Ned,  as  he  prepared  to  climb. 
"But  I'll  be  more  careful.  First,  though,  let's 
see  if  I  can  see  anything  without  getting  up." 

He  paused  a  little  way  from  the  pine,  and 
peered  down  the  hill.  Nothing  could  be  seen  of 


60         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

the  big  enclosed  field  back  of  the  building  about 
which  Tom  was  so  careful. 

"You  have  to  be  up  to  see  anything,"  mused 
Ned.  "It's  up  a  tree  for  me!  Well,  here  goes!" 

As  Ned  started  to  work  his  way  up  among  the 
thick,  green  branches,  he  became  aware,  suddenly 
and  somewhat  to  his  surprise,  that  he  was  not  the 
only  person  who  knew  about  the  observation  spot. 
For  Ned  saw,  a  yard  above  his  head,  as  he  started 
to  climb,  two  feet,  encased  in  well-made  boots, 
standing  on  a  limb  near  the  trunk  of  the  tree. 

"Oh,  ho!"  mused  Ned  "Some  one  here  before 
me!  Where  there  are  feet  there  must  be  legs* 
and  where  there  are  legs,  most  likely  a  body. 
And  it  isn't  Harry,  either!  The  feet  are  too  big 
for  that.  I  wonder " 

But  Ned's  musings  were  suddenly  cut  short, 
for  the  person  up  the  tree  ahead  of  him  moved 
quickly  and  stepped  on  Ned's  fingers,  with  nc? 
light  tread. 

"Ouch!"  exclaimed  the  young  bank  clerk  in 
voluntarily,  and,  letting  go  his  hold  of  the  limb, 
he  dropped  to  the  ground,  whiie  there  came  a 
startled  exclamation  from  the  screen  of  pine 
branches  above  him. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

DETECTIVE   RAD 

"WHO'S  there?"  came  the  demand  from  the 
unseen  person  in  the  tree. 

"I  might  ask  you  the  same  thing,"  was  Ned's 
sharp  retort,  as  he  nursed  his  skinned  and  bruised 
fingers.  "What  are  you  doing  up  there?" 

There  was  no  answer,  but  a  sound  among  the 
branches  indicated  that  the  person  up  the  tree 
was  coming  down.  In  another  moment  a  man 
leaped  to  the  ground  lightly  and  stood  beside 
Ned.  The  lad  observed  that  the  stranger  was 
clean  shaven,  except  for  a  small  moustache  which 
curled  up  at  the  ends  slightly. 

"For  all  the  world  like  a  small  edition  of  the 
Kaiser's,"  Ned  described  it  afterward. 

"What  are  you  doing  here?"  demanded  the 
man,  and  his  voice  had  in  it  the  ring  of  authority. 
It  was  this  very  quality  that  made  Ned  bristle  up 
and  "get  on  his  ear,"  as  he  said  later.  The  young 
clerk  did  not  object  to  being  spoken  to  authori- 

61 


62         TOM  SWIFT  'AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

tatively  by  those  who  had  the  right,  but  from  a 
stranger  it  was  different. 

"I  might  ask  you  the  same  thing,"  retorted 
Ned.  "I  have  as  much  right  here  as  you,  I 
fancy,  and  I  can  climb  trees,  too,  but  I  don't  care 
to  have  my  fingers  stepped  on,"  and  he  looked  at 
the  scarified  members  of  his  left  hand. 

"I  beg  your  pardon.  I'm  sorry  if  I  hurt  you. 
I  didn't  mean  to.  And  of  course  this  is  a  public 
place,  in  a  way,  and  you  have  a  right  here.  I 
was  just  climbing  the  tree  to — er — to  get  a  fish 
ing  pole!" 

Ned  had  all  he  could  do  to  keep  from  laughing. 
The  idea  of  getting  a  fishing  pole  from  a  gnarled 
and  stunted  pine  struck  him  as  being  altogether 
novel  and  absurd.  Yet  it  was  not  time  to  make 
fun  of  the  man.  The  latter  looked  too  serious 
for  that. 

"Rather  a  good  view  to  be  had  from  up  where 
you  were,  eh?"  asked  Ned  suggestively. 

"A  good  view?"  exclaimed  the  other.  "I  don't 
know  what  you  mean!" 

"Oh,  then  you  didn't  see  anything,"  Ned  went 
on.  "Perhaps  it's  just  as  well  Are  you  fond  of 
fishing?" 

"Very.  I  have But  I  forget,  I  do  not 

know  you  nor  you  me.  Allow  rr^  to  introduce 
myself.  I  am  Mr.  Walter  Simp^bn,  and  I  am 


DETECTIVE  RAD  63 

here  on  a  visit.  I  just  happened  to  walk  out  this 
way,  and,  seeing  a  small  stream,  thought  I  should 
like  to  fish.  I  usually  carry  lines  and  hooks,  and 
all  I  needed  was  the  pole.  I  was  looking  for  it 
when  I  heard  you,  and " 

"I  felt  you!"  interrupted  Ned,  with  a  short 
laugh.  He  told  his  own  name,  but  that  was  all, 
and  seemed  about  to  pass  on. 

"Are  there  any  locomotive  shops  around  here?" 
asked  Mr.  Simpson. 

"Locomotive  shops?"  queried  Ned.  "None  that 
I  know  of.  Why?" 

"Well,  I  heard  heavy  machinery  being  used 
down  there;"  and  he  waved  his  hand  toward 
.Tom's  shops,  "and  I  thought " 

"Oh,  you  mean  Shopton!"  exclaimed  Ned. 
"That's  the  Swift  plant.  No,  they  don't  make 
locomotives,  though  they  could  if  they  wanted  to, 
for  they  turn  out  airships,  submarines,  tunnel 
diggers,  and  I  don't  know  what." 

"Do  they  make  munitions  there — for  the 
Allies?"  asked  Mr.  Simpson,  and  there  was  an 
eager  look  on  his  face. 

"No,  I  don't  believe  so,"  Ned  answered: 
"though,  in  fact,  I  don't  know  enough  of  the 
place  to  be  in  a  position  to  give  you  any  infor 
mation  about  it,"  he  told  the  man,  not  deeming 
it  wise  to  go  into  particulars. 


«4         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

Perhaps  the  man  felt  this,  as  he  did  not  press 
for  an  answer. 

The  two  stood  looking  at  one  another  for  some 
little  time,  and  then  the  man,  with  a  bow  that 
had  in  it  something  of  insolence,  as  well  as  po 
liteness,  turned  and  went  down  the  path  up  which 
Ned  had  come. 

The  young  bank  clerk  waited  a  little  while,  and 
then  turned  his  attention  to  the  tree  which  seemed 
to  have  suddenly  assumed  an  importance  alto 
gether  out  of  proportion  to  its  size. 

"Well,  since  I'm  here  I'll  have  a  look  up  that 
tree,"  decided  Ned. 

Favoring  his  bruised  hand,  Ned  essayed  the 
ascent  of  the  tree  more  successfully  this  time. 
As  he  rose  up  among  the  branches  he  found  he 
could  look  down  directly  into  the  yard  with  the 
high  fence  about  it.  He  could  see  only  a  portion, 
good  as  his  vantage  point  was,  and  that  portion 
had  in  it  a  few  workmen — nothing  else. 

"No  elephants  there,"  said  Ned,  with  a  smile, 
as  he  remembered  Harry's  excitement  "Still  it's 
just  as  well  for  Tom  to  know  that  his  place  can 
be  looked  down  on.  I'll  go  and  tell  him." 

As  Ned  descended  the  tree  he  caught  a  glimpse, 
off  to  one  side  among  some  bushes,  of  something 
moving. 

"I  wonder  if  that's  my  Simp  friend,  playing  I 


DETECTIVE  RAD  6t> 

spy?"  mused  Ned.  "Guess  I'd  better  have  a 
look." 

He  worked  his  way  carefully  close  to  the  spot 
where  he  had  seen  the  movement.  Proceeding 
then  with  more  caution,  watching  each  step  and 
parting  the  bushes  with  a  careful  hand,  Ned  be 
held  what  he  expected. 

There  was  the  late  occupant  of  the  pine  tree,, 
the  man  who  had  stepped  on  Ned's  fingers,  ap 
plying  a  small  telescope  to  his  eye  and  gazing  in 
the  direction  of  Tom  Swift's  home.* 

The  man  stood  concealed  in  a  screen  of  bushes, 
with  his  back  toward  Ned,  and  seemed  oblivious 
to  his  surroundings.  He  moved  the  glass  to  and 
fro,  and  seemed  eagerly  intent  on  discovering 
something. 

"Though  what  he  can  see  of  Tom's  place  from 
there  isn't  much,"  mused  Ned.  "I've  tried  it  my 
self,  and  I  know ;  you  have  to  be  on  an  elevation 
to  look  down.  Still  it  shows  he's  after  some 
thing,  all  right.  Guess  I'll  throw  a  little  scare 
into  him." 

As  yet,  Ned  believed  himself  unobserved,  and 
that  his  presence  was  not  suspected  was  proved  a 
moment  later  when  he  shouted : 

"Hey!    What  are  you  doing  there?" 

He  had  his  eye  on  the  partially  concealed  man, 
and  the  latter,  as  Ned  said  afterward,  jumped 


66          TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

fully  two  feet  in  the  air,  dropping  his  telescopy 
as  he  did  so,  and  turning  to  face  the  lad. 

"Oh,  it's  you,  is  it?"  he  faltered. 

"No  one  else;"  and  Ned  grinned.  "Looking 
for  a  good  place  to  fish,  I  presume?" 

Then,  at  least  for  once,  the  man's  suave  man 
ner  dropped  from  him  as  if  it  had  been  a  mask. 
He  bared  his  teeth  in  a  snarl  as  he  answered : 

"Mind  your  own  business!" 

"Something  I'd  advise  you  also  to  do,"  replied 
Ned  smoothly.  "You  can't  see  anything  from 
there,"  he  went  on.  "Better  go  back  to  the  tree 
and — cut  a  fishing  pole!" 

With  this  parting  shot  Ned  sauntered  down  the 
hill,  and  swung  around  to  make  his  way  toward 
Tom's  home.  He  paid  no  further  attention  to 
the  man,  save  to  determine,  by  listening,  that  the 
fellow  was  searching  among  the  bushes  for  the 
dropped  telescope. 

The  young  inventor  was  at  home,  taking  a 
hasty  lunch  which  Mrs.  Baggert  had  set  out  for 
him,  the  while  he  poured  over  some  blueprint 
drawings  that,  to  Ned's  unaccustomed  eyes, 
looked  like  the  mazes  of  some  intricate  puzzle. 

"Well,  where  have  you  been  keeping  yourself, 
old  man?"  asked  Tom  Swift,  after  he  had  greeted 
his  friend. 

"I  might  ask  the  same  of  you,"  retorted  Ned, 


DETECTIVE  RAD  67 

with  a  smile.  "I've  been  trying  to  find  you  to 
give  you  some  important  information,  and  I  made 
up  my  mind,  after  what  happened  to-day,  to  write 
it  and  leave  it  for  you  if  I  didn't  see  you." 

"What  happened  to-day?"  asked  Tom,  and 
there  was  a  serious  look  on  his  face. 

"You  are  being  spied  upon — at  least,  that  part 
of  your  works  enclosed  in  the  new  fence  is,"  re 
plied  Ned. 

"You  don't  mean  it!"  cried  Tom.  "This  ac 
counts  for  some  of  it,  then." 

"For  some  of  what?"  asked  Ned. 

"For  some  of  the  actions  of  that  Blakeson. 
He's  been  hanging  around  here,  I  understand, 
asking  too  many  questions  about  things  that  I'm 
trying  to  keep  secret — even  from  my  best 
friends,"  and  as  Tom  said  this  Ned  fancied  there 
was  a  note  of  regret  in  his  voice. 

"Yes,  you  are  keeping  some  things  secret, 
Tom,"  said  Ned,  determined  "to  take  the  bull  by 
the  horns,"  as  it  were. 

"I'm  sorry,  but  it  has  to  be,"  went  on  Tom. 
"In  a  little  while " 

"Oh,  don't  think  that  I'm  at  all  anxious  to 
know  things!"  broke  in  Ned.  "I  was  thinking  of 
some  one  else,  Tom — another  of  your  friends." 

"Do  you  mean  Mary?" 

Ned  nodded. 


68          TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

"She  feels  rather  keenly  your  lack  of  explana 
tions,"  went  on  the  young  bank  clerk.  "If  you 
could  only  give  her  a  hint " 

"I'm  sorry,  but  it  can't  be  done,"  and  Tom 
spoke  firmly.  "But  you  haven't  told  me  all  that 
happened.  You  say  I  am  being  spied  upon." 

"Yes,"  and  Ned  related  what  had  taken  place 
in  the  tree. 

"Whew!"  whistled  Tom.  "That's  going  some 
with  a  vengeance !  I  must  have  that  tree  down  in 
a  jiffy.  I  didn't  imagine  there  was  a  spot  where 
the  yard  could  be  overlooked.  But  I  evidently 
skipped  that  tree.  Fortunately  it's  on  land  owned 
by  a  concern  with  which  I  have  some  connection, 
and  I  can  have  it  chopped  down  without  any  trou 
ble.  Much  obliged  to  you,  Ned.  I  shan't  forget 
this  in  a  hurry.  I'll  go  right  away  and " 

Tom's  further  remark  was  interrupted  by  the 
hurried  entrance  of  Eradicate  Sampson.  The  old 
man  was  smiling  in  pleased  anticipation,  evident 
ly,  at  the  same  time,  trying  hard  not  to  give  way 
to  too  much  emotion. 

"I's  done  it,  Massa  Tom!"  he  cried  exultingly. 

"Done  what?"  asked  the  young  inventor.  "I 
hope  you  and  Koku  haven't  had  another  row." 

"No,  sah!  I  don't  want  nuffin  t'  do  wif  dat 
ornery,  low-down  white  trash !  But  I's  gone  an* 
done  whut  I  said  I'd  do!" 


DETECTIVE  RAD  69 

"What's  that,  Rad?  Come  on,  tell  us!  Don't 
keep  us  in  suspense." 

"I's  done  some  deteckertiff  wuk,  jest  laik  I 
said  I'd  do,  an'  I's  cotched  him !  By  golly,  Massa 
Tom!  I's  cotched  him  black-handed,  as  it  says!" 

"Caught  him  ?  Whom  have  you  caught,  Rad  ?" 
cried  Tom.  "Do  you  suppose  he  means  he's 
caught  the  man  you  saw  up  the  tree,  Ned?  The 
man  you  think  is  a  German  spy?" 

"It  couldn't  be.  I  left  him  only  a  little  while 
ago  hunting  for  his  telescope." 

"Then  whom  have  you  caught,  Rad?"  cried 
Tom.  "Come  on,  I'll  give  you  credit  for  it  Tell 
us!" 

"I's  cotched  dat  Dutch  Sauerkrauter,  dat's  who 
I's  cotched,  Massa  Tom!  By  golly,  I's  cotched 
him!" 

"But  who,  Rad?    Who  is  he?" 

"I  don't  know  his  name,  Massa  Tom,  but  he's 
a  Sauerkrauter,  all  right.  Dat's  whut  he  eats  for 
lunch,  an'  dat's  why  I  calls  him  dat.  I's  cotched 
him,  an'  he's  locked  up  in  de  stable  wif  mah  mule 
Boomerang.  An'  ef  he  tries  t'  git  out  Boomer- 
ang'll  jest  natchully  kick  him  into  little  pieces — i 
dat's  whut  Boomerang  will  do,  by  golly!" 


CHAPTER   IX 

A    NIGHT   TEST 

"COME  on,  Ned,"  said  Tom,  after  a  moment  or 
two  of  silent  contemplation  of  Eradicate.  "I 
don't  know  what  this  cheerful  camouflager  of 
mine  is  talking  about,  but  we'll  have  to  go  to  see, 
I  suppose.  You  say  you  have  shut  some  one  up 
in  Boomerang's  stable,  Rad?" 

"Yes,  sah,  Massa  Tom,  dat's  whut  I's  gone  an* 
done." 

"And  you  say  he's  a  German?" 

"I  don't  know  as  to  dat,  Massa  Tom,  but  he 
suah  done  eat  sauerkraut  'mostest  ebery  meal. 
Dat's  whut  I  call  him — a  Sauerkrauter !  An'  he 
suah  was  spyin'." 

"How  do  you  know  that,  Rad?" 

"  'Cause  he  done  went  from  his  own  shop  on 
annuder  man's  ticket  into  de  secret  shop,  dat's 
•whut  he  went  an'  done!" 

"Do  you  mean  to  tell  me,  Rad,"  went  on  Tom, 
"that  one  of  the:  workmen  from  another  shop 

70 


A  NIGHT  TEST  71 

entered  Number  Thirteen  on  the  pass  issued  in 
the  name  of  one  of  the  men  regularly  employed 
in  my  new  shop?" 

"Dat's  whut  he  done,  Massa  Tom." 

"How  do  you  know?" 

"  'Cause  I  detected  him  doin'  it.  Yo'-all  done 
made  me  a  deteckertiff,  an'  I  detected." 

"Go  on,  Rad." 

"Well,  sah,  Massa  Tom,  I  seen  dish  yeah 
Dutchman  git  a  ticket-pass  offen  one  ob  de  reg'lar 
men.  Den  he  went  in  de  unlucky  place  an'  stayed 
fo'  a  long  time.  When  he  come  out  I  jest  nat- 
chully  nabbed  him,  dat's  whut  I  done,  an'  I  took 
him  to  Boomerang's  stable." 

"How'd  you  get  him  to  go  with  you?"  asked 
Ned,  for  the  old  colored  man  was  feeble,  and 
most  of  the  men  employed  at  Tom's  plant  were 
of  a  robust  type. 

"I  done  fooled  him.  I  said  as  how  I'd  jest 
brought  from  town  in  mah  mule  cart  some  new 
sauerkraut,  an'  he  could  sample  it  if  he  liked.  So 
he  went  wif  me,  an'  when  I  got  him  to  de  stable 
I  pushed  him  in  and  locked  de  door ! " 

"Come  on!"  cried  Tom  to  his  chum.  "Rad 
may  be  right,  after  all,  and  one  of  my  workmen 
may  be  a  German  spy,  though  I've  tried  to  weed 
them  all  out. 

"However,  no  matter  about  that,  if  he  was 


72         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

employed  in  another  shop,  he  had  no  right  to  gc 
into  Number  Thirteen.  That's  a  violation  of 
rules.  But  if  he's  in  Rad's  ramshackle  stable  he 
can  easily  get  out." 

"No,  sah,  dat's  whut  he  can't  do!"  insisted  the 
colored  man. 

"Why  not?"  asked  Tom. 

"  'Cause  Boomerang's  on  guard,  an*  yo'-all 
knows  how  dat  mule  of  mine  can  use  his  heels!" 

"I  know,  Rad,"  went  on  Tom;  "but  this  fellow 
•will  find  a  way  of  keeping  out  of  their  way.  We 
must  hurry." 

"Oh,  he's  safe  enough,"  declared  the  colored 
man.  "I  done  tole  Koku  to  stan'  guard,  too! 
Dat  low-down  white  trash  ob  a  giant  is  all  right 
fo*  guardin',  but  he  ain't  wuff  shucks  at  de- 
tectin'!"  said  Eradicate,  with  pardonable  pride. 
"By  golly,  maybe  I's  too  old  t'  put  on  guard,  but 
I  kin  detect,  all  right!" 

"If  this  proves  true,  I'll  begin  to  believe  you 
can,"  replied  Tom.  "Hop  along,  Ned!" 

Followed  by  the  shuffling  and  chuckling  negro, 
Tom  and  Ned  went  to  the  rather  insecure  stable 
where  the  mule  Boomerang  was  kept.  That  is,1 
the  stable  was  insecure  from  the  standpoint  of  a 
jail.  But  the  sight  of  the  giant  Koku  marching 
up  and  down  in  front  of  the  place,  armed  with  a 
big  club,  reassured  Tom. 


A  NIGHT  TEST  73: 

"Is  he  in  there,  Koku?"  asked  the  young  in 
ventor. 

"Yes,  Master!  He  try  once  come  out,  but  he 
approach  his  head  very  close  my  defense  weapon 
and  he  go  back  again." 

"I  should  think  he  would,"  laughed  Ned,  as 
he  noted  the  giant's  club. 

"Well,  Rad,  let's  have  a  look  at  your  prisoner. 
Open  the  door,  Koku,"  commanded  Tom. 

"Better  look  out,"  advised  Ned.  "He  may  be 
armed." 

"We'll  have  to  take  a  chance.  Besides,  I  don't 
believe  he  is,  or  he'd  have  fired  at  Koku.  There 
isn't  much  to  fear  with  the  giant  ready  for  emer 
gencies.  Now  we'll  see  who  he  is.  I  can't  im 
agine  one  of  my  men  turning  traitor." 

The  door  was  opened  and  a  rather  miserable- 
looking  man  shuffled  out.  There  was  a  bloody 
rag  on  his  head,  and  he  seemed  to  have  made 
more  of  an  effort  to  escape  than  Koku  described, 
for  he  appeared  to  have  suffered  in  the  ensuing 
fight. 

"Carl  Schwen!"  exclaimed  Tom.  "So  it  was 
you,  was  it?" 

The  German,  for  such  he  was,  did  not  answer 
for  a  moment.  He  appeared  downcast,  and  as  if 
suffering.  Then  a  change  came  over  him.  He 
straightened  up,  saluted  as  a  soldier  might  have 


74          TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

done,  and  a  sneering  look  came  into  his  face.  It 
was  succeeded  by  one  of  pride  as  the  man  ex 
claimed  : 

"Yes,  it  is  I!  And  I  tried  to  do  what  I  tried 
to  do  for  the  Fatherland!  I  have  failed.  Now 
you  will  have  me  shot  as  a  spy,  I  suppose!"  he 
added  bitterly. 

Tom  did  not  answer  directly.  He  looked 
keenly  at  the  man,  and  at  last  said : 

"I  am  sorry  to  see  this.  I  knew  you  were  a 
German,  Schwen,  but  I  kept  you  employed  at 
work  that  could  not,  by  any  possibility,  be  con 
sidered  as  used  against  your  country.  You  are  a 
good  machinist,  and  I  needed  you.  But  if  what 
I  hear  about  you  is  true,  it  is  the  end. " 

"It  is  the  end,"  said  the  man  simply.  "I  tried 

and  failed.  If  it  had  not  been  for  Eradicate < 

Well,  he's  smarter  than  I  gave  him  credit  for, 
that's  all!" 

The  man  spoke  very  good  English,  with  hardly 
a  trace  of  German  accent,  but  there  was  no  doubt 
as  to  his  character. 

"What  will  you  do  with  him,  Tom?"  asked 
Ned. 

"I  don't  know.  I'll  have  to  do  a  little  investi 
gating  first  But  he  must  be  locked  up.  Schwen," 
went  on  the  young  inventor,  "I'm  sorry  about 
this,  but  I  shall  have  to  give  you  into  the  custody 


A  NIGHT  TEST  75 

of  a  United  States  marshal.  You  are  not  a  nat 
uralized  citizen,  are  you?" 

The  man  muttered  something  in  German  to 
the  effect  that  he  was  not  naturalized  and  was 
glad  of  it. 

"Then  you  come  under  the  head  of  an  enemy 
alien,"  decided  Tom,  who  understood  what  was 
said,  "and  will  have  to  be  interned.  I  had  hoped 
to  avoid  this,  but  it  seems  it  cannot  be.  I  am 
sorry  to  lose  you,  but  there  are  more  import 
ant  matters.  Now  let's  get  at  the  bottom  of 
this." 

Schwen  was,  after  a  little  delay,  taken  in 
charge  by  the  proper  officer,  and  then  a  search 
Was  made  of  his  room,  for,  in  common  with 
some  of  the  other  workmen,  he  lived  in  a  board- 
;ing  house  not  far  from  the  plant. 

There,  by  a  perusal  of  his  papers,  enough  was 
revealed  to  show  Tom  the  danger  he  had  es 
caped. 

"And  yet  I  don't  know  that  I  have  altogether 
escaped  it,"  he  said  to  Ned,  as  they  talked  it  over. 
"There's  no  telling  how  long  this  spy  work  may 
have  been  going  on.  If  he  has  discovered  all  the 
secrets  of  Shop  Thirteen  it  may  be  a  bad  thing 
for  the  Allies  and " 

"Look  out!"  warned  Ned,  with  a  laugh. 
"You'll  be  saying  things  you  don't  want  to,  Tom, 


76          TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

and  not  at  all  in  keeping  with  your  former  si 
lence/' 

"That's  so,"  agreed  the  young  inventor,  with  a 
sigh.  "But  if  things  go  right  I'll  not  have  to  keep 
silent  much  longer.  I  may  be  able  to  tell  you 
everything. " 

"Don't  tell  me — tell  Mary,"  advised  his  chum. 
"She  feels  your  silence  more  than  I  do.  I  know 
how  such  things  are." 

"Well,  I'll  be  able  to  tell  her,  too,"  decided 
Tom.  "That  is,  if  Schwen  hasn't  spoiled  every 
thing.  Look  here,  Ned,  these  papers  show  he's  been 
in  correspondence  with  Blakeson  and  Grinder." 

"What  about,  Tom?" 

"I  can't  tell.  The  letters  are  evidently  written 
in  code,  and  I  can't  translate  it  offhand.  But  I'll 
make  another  attempt  at  it.  And  here's  one  from 
a  person  who  signs  himself  Walter  Simpson,  but 
the  writing  is  in  German." 

"Walter  Simpson!"  cried  Ned.  "That's  my 
friend  of  the  tree!" 

"It  is?"  cried  Tom.  "Then  things  begin  to  fit 
themselves  together.  Simpson  is  a  spy,  and 
he  was  probably  trying  to  communicate  with 
Schwen.  But  the  latter  didn't  get  the  informa 
tion  he  wanted,  or,  if  he  did  get  it,  he  wasn't  able 
to  pass  it  on  to  the  man  in  the  tree.  Eradicate 
nipped  him  just  in  time." 


A  NIGHT  TEST  77 

And,  so  it  seemed,  the  colored  man  had  done. 
By  accident  he  had  discovered  that  Schwen  had 
prevailed  on  one  of  the  workmen  in  Shop 
13  to  change  passes  with  him.  This  enabled 
the  German  spy  to  gain  admittance  to  the  secret 
place,  which  Tom  thought  was  so  well  guarded. 
The  man  who  let  Schwen  take  the  pass  was  in 
the  game,  too,  it  appeared,  and  he  was  also  placed 
under  arrest.  But  he  was  a  mere  tool  in  the  pay 
of  the  others,  and  had  no  chance  to  gain  valuable 
information. 

A  hasty  search  of  Shop  13  did  not  reveal  any 
thing  missing,  and  it  was  surmised  (for  Schwen 
would  not  talk)  that  he  had  not  found  time  to 
go  about  and  get  all  that  he  was  after. 

Soon  after  Schwen's  arrest  the  "Spy  Tree,"  as 
Tom  called  it,  was  cut  down. 

"Eradicate  certainly  did  better  than  I  ever  ex 
pected  he  would,"  declared  Tom.  "Well,  if  all 
goes  well,  there  won't  be  so  much  need  for  se 
crecy  after  a  day  or  so.  We're  going  to  give  her 
a  test,  and  then " 

"Give  who  a  test?"  asked  Ned,  with  a  smile. 

"You'll  soon  see,"  answered  Tom,  with  an  an 
swering  grin.  "I  hereby  invite  you  and  Mr.  Da 
mon  to  come  over  to  Shop  Thirteen  day  after 

to-morrow  night  and  then Well,  you'll  see 

what  you'll  see." 


78         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

With  this  Ned  had  to  be  content,  and  he  waited 
anxiously  for  the  appointed  time  to  come. 

"I  surely  will  be  glad  when  Tom  is  more  lilce 
himself,"  he  mused,  as  he  left  his  chum.  "And 
I  guess  Mary  will  be,  too.  I  wonder  if  he's  going 
to  ask  her  to  the  exhibition?" 

It  developed  that  Tom  had  done  so,  a  fact 
which  Ned  learned  on  the  morning  of  the  day  set 
for  the  test. 

"Come  over  about  nine  o'clock,"  Tom  said  to 
his  chum.  "I  guess  it  will  be  dark  enough  then." 

Meanwhile  Schwen  and  Otto  Kuhn,  the  other 
man  involved,  had  been  locked  up,  and  all  their 
papers  given  into  the  charge  of  the  United  States 
authorities.  A  closer  guard  than  ever  was  kept 
over  No.  13  shop,  and  some  of  the  workmen, 
against  whom  there  was  a  slight  suspicion,  were 
transferred. 

"Well,  we'll  see  what  we  shall  see,"  mused  Ned 
on  the  appointed  evening,  when  a  telephone  mes 
sage  from  Mr.  Damon  informed  the  young  bank 
clerk  that  the  eccentric  man  was  coming  to  call 
for  him  before  going  on  to  the  Swift  place. 


CHAPTER   X 

A   RUNAWAY   GIANT 

"WHAT  do  you  think  it's  all  about,  Mr. 
Damon  ?" 

"I'm  sure  I  don't  know,  Ned." 

The  two  were  at  the  home  of  the  young  bank 
clerk,  preparing  to  start  for  the  Swift  place,  it 
being  nearly  nine  o'clock  on  the  evening  named 
by  the  youthful  inventor. 

"Bless  my  hat-rack!"  went  on  the  eccentric 
man,  "but  Tom  isn't  at  all  like  himself  of  late. 
He's  working  on  some  invention,  I  know  that, 
but  it's  all  I  do  know.  He  hasn't  given  me  a 
hint  of  it" 

"Nor  me,  nor  any  of  his  friends,"  added  Ned. 
"And  he  acts  so  oddly  about  enlisting — doesn't 
want  even  to  speak  of  it.  How  he  got  exempted 
I  don't  know,  but  I  do  know  one  thing,  and  that 
is  Tom  Swift  is  for  Uncle  Sam  first,  last  and 
always!" 

79 


80          TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

"Oh,  of  course!"  agreed  Mr.  Damon.  "Well, 
we'll  soon  know,  I  guess.  We'd  better  start, 
Ned." 

"It's  useless  to  try  to  guess  what  it  is  Tom  is 
up  to.  He  has  kept  his  secret  well.  The  nearest 
any  one  has  come  to  it  was  when  Harry  figured 
out  that  Tom  had  a  band  of  giant  elephants  which 
he  was  fitting  with  coats  of  steel  armor  to  go 
against  the  Germans,"  observed  Ned,  when  he 
and  Mr.  Damon  were  on  their  way. 

"Well,  that  mightn't  be  so  bad,"  agreed  Mr. 
Damon.  "But — um — elephants — and  wild  giant 
ones,  too!  Bless  my  circus  ticket,  Ned!  do  you 
think  we'd  better  go  in  that  case?" 

"Oh,  Tom  hasn't  anything  like  that!"  laughed 
Ned.  "That  was  only  Harry's  crazy  notion  after 
he  saw  something  big  and  ungainly  careening 
about  the  enclosed  yard  of  Shop  Thirteen. 
Hello,  there  go  Mary  Nestor  and  her  father!" 
and  Ned  pointed  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  street 
where  the  girl  and  Mr.  Nestor  could  be  seen  in 
the  light  of  a  street  lamp. 

"They're  going  out  to  see  Tom's  secret,"  said 
Mr.  Damon.  "There's  plenty  of  room  in  my  car. 
Let's  ask  them  to  go  with  us." 

"Surely,"  agreed  Ned,  and  a  moment  later  he 
and  Mary  were  in  the  rear  seat  while  Mr.  Damon 
and  Mr.  Nestor  were  in  the  front,  Mr.  Damon  at 


A  RUNAWAY  GIANT  81 

the  wheel,  and  they  were  soon  speeding  down 
the  road. 

"I  do  hope  everything  will  go  all  right,'*  ob 
served  Mary. 

"What  do  you  mean?"  asked  Ned. 

"I  mean  Tom  is  a  little  bit  anxious  about  this 
test." 

"Did  he  tell  you  what  it  was  to  be?" 

"No;  but  when  he  called  to  invite  father  and 
me  to  be  present  he  seemed  worried.  I  guess  it's 
a  big  thing,  for  he  never  has  acted  this  way  be 
fore — not  talking  about  his  work." 

"That's  right,"  assented  Ned.  "But  the  secret 
will  soon  be  disclosed,  I  fancy.  But  how  is  it 
you  aren't  going  to  the  dance  with  Lieutenant 
Martin?  He  told  me  you  had  half  accepted  for 
to-night." 

"I  had."  And  if  it  had  been  light  enough  Ned 
would  have  seen  Mary  blushing.  "I  was  going 
with  him.  It's  a  dance  for  the  benefit  of  the  Red 
Cross  to  get  money  for  comfort  kits  for  the  sol 
diers.  But  when  Tom  sent  word  that  he'd  like 
to  have  me  present  to-night,  why " 

"Oh,  I  see!"  broke  in  Ned,  with  a  little  laugh. 
'"Noughsaid!" 

Mary's  blushes  were  deeper,  but  the  kindly 
eight  hid  them. 

Then  they  conversed  on  matters  connected  with 


82         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

the  big  war — the  selling  of  Liberty  Bonds,  the 
Red  Cross  work  and  the  Surgical  Dressings  Com 
mittee,  in  which  Mary  was  the  head  of  a  junior 
league. 

"Everybody  in  Shopton  seems  to  be  doing 
something  to  help  win  the  war,"  said  Mary,  and 
as  there  was  just  then  a  lull  in  the  talk  between 
her  father  and  Mr.  Damon  her  words  sounded 
clearly. 

"Yes,  everybody — that  is,  all  but  a  few,"  said 
Mr.  Nestor,  "and  they  ought  to  get  busy.  There 
are  some  young  fellows  in  this  town  that  ought 
to  be  wearing  khaki,  and  I  don't  mean  you,  Ned 
Newton.  You're  doing  your  bit,  all  right." 

"And  so  is  Tom  Swift!"  exclaimed  Mr.  Da 
mon,  as  if  there  had  been  an  implied  accusation 
against  the  young  inventor.  "I  heard,  only  to 
day,  that  one  of  his  inventions — a  gas  helmet  that 
he  planned — is  in  use  on  the  Western  front  in 
Europe.  Tom  gave  his  patents  to  the  govern 
ment,  and  even  made  a  lot  of  the  helmets  free  to 
show  other  factories  how  to  turn  them  out  to 
advantage. " 

"He  did?"  cried  Mr.  Nestor. 

"That's  what  he  did.  Talk  about  doing  your 
bit " 

"I  didn't  know  that,"  observed  Mary's  father 
slowly.  "Do  you  suppose  it's  a  test  of  another 


A  RUNAWAY  GIANT  $£ 

gas  helmet  that  Tom  has  asked  us  out  to  see 
to-night?" 

"I  hardly  think  so,"  said  Ned.  "He  wouldn't 
wait  until  after  dark  for  that.  This  is  something 
big,  and  Tom  must  intend  to  have  it  out  in  the 
open.  He  probably  waited  until  after  sunset  so 
the  neighbors  wouldn't  come  out  in  flocks. 
There's  been  a  lot  of  talk  about  what  is  going  on 
in  Shop  Thirteen,  especially  since  the  arrest  of 
the  German  spies,  and  the  least  hint  that  a  test  is 
tinder  way  would  bring  out  a  big  crowd." 

"I  suppose  so,"  agreed  Mr.  Nestor.  "Well, 
I'm  glad  to  know  that  Tom  is  doing  something 
for  Uncle  Sam,  even  if  it's  only  helping  with  gas 
helmets.  Those  Germans  are  barbarians,  if  ever 
there  were  any,  and  we've  got  to  fight  them  the 
same  way  they  fight  us !  That's  the  only  way  to 
end  the  war!  Now  if  I  had  my  way,  I'd  take 
every  German  I  could  lay  my  hands  on — — " 

"Father,  pretzels!"  exclaimed  Mary. 

"Eh?    What's  that,  my  dear?" 

"I  said  pretzels!" 

"Oh!"  and  Mr.  Nestor's  voice  lost  its  sharp 
ness. 

"That's  my  way  of  quieting  father  down  when 
he  gets  too  strenuous  in  his  talk  about  the  war," 
explained  Mary.  "We  agreed  that  whenever  he 
got  excited  I  was  to  say  'pretzels'  to  him,  and 


84          TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

that  would  make  him  remember.  We  made  up 
our  little  scheme  after  he  got  into  an  argument 
with  a  man  on  the  train  and  was  carried  past  his 
station." 

"That's  right,"  admitted  Mr.  Nestor,  with'  a 
laugh.  "But  that  fellow  was  the  most  obstinate, 
pig-headed  Dutchman  that  ever  tackled  a  plate  of 
pig's  knuckles  and  sauerkraut,  and  if  he  had  the 
least  grain  of  common  sense  he'd " 

"Pretzels!"  cried  Mary. 

"Eh?  Oh,  yes,  my  dear.  I  was  forgetting 
again." 

There  was  a  moment  of  merriment,  and  then, 
after  the  talk  had  run  for  a  while  in  other  and 
safer  channels,  Mr.  Damon  made  the  announce 
ment: 

"I  think  we're  about  there.  We'll  be  at  Tom's 
place  when  we  make  the  turn  and " 

He  was  interrupted  by  a  low,  heavy  rumbling. 

"What's  that?"  asked  Mr.  Nestor. 

"It's  getting  louder — the  noise,"  remarked 
Mary.  "It  sounds  as  if  some  big  body  were  ap 
proaching  down  the  road — the  tramp  of  many 
feet,  Can  it  be  that  troops  are  marching  away?" 

"Bless  my  spark  plug!"  suddenly  cried  Mr. 
Damon.  "Look!" 

They  gazed  ahead,  and  there,  seen  in  the  glare 
of  the  automobile  headlights,  was  an  immense, 


A  RUNAWAY  GIANT  85 

dark  body  approaching  them  from  across  a  level 
field.  The  rumble  and  roar  became  more  pro 
nounced  and  the  ground  shook  as  though  from 
an  earthquake. 

A  glaring  light  shone  out  from  the  ponderous 
moving  body,  and  above  the  roar  and  rattle  a 
voice  called: 

"Get  out  of  the  way!  We've  lost  control! 
Look  out!" 

"Bless  my  steering  wheel!"  gasped  Mr.  Damon, 
"that  was  Tom  Swift's  voice!  But  what  is  he 
doing  in  that — thing?" 

"It  must  be  his  new  invention!"  exclaimed 
Ned. 

"What  is  it?"  asked  Mr.  Nestor. 

"A  giant,"  ventured  Ned.  "It's  a  giant  ma 
chine  of  some  sort  and " 

"And  it's  running  away!"  cried  Mr.  Damon, 
as  he  quickly  steered  his  car  to  one  side — and  not 
a  moment  too  soon !  An  instant  later  in  a  cloud 
of  dust,  and  with  a  rumble  and  a  roar  as  of  a 
dozen  express  trains  fused  into  one,  the  runaway 
giant — of  what  nature  they  could  only  guess — > 
flashed  and  lumbered  by,  Tom  Swift  leaning 
from  an  opening  in  the  thick  steel  side,  and  shout 
ing  something  to  his  friends. 


CHAPTER   XI 

TOM'S   TANK 

"WHAT  was  it?"  gasped  Mary,  and,  to  her 
surprise,  she  found  herself  close  to  Ned,  clutch 
ing  his  arm. 

"I  have  an  idea,  but  I'd  rather  let  Tom  tell 
you,"  he  answered. 

"But  where's  it  going?"  asked  Mr.  Nestor. 
"What  in  the  world  does  Tom  Swift  mean  by 
inviting  us  out  here  to  witness  a  test,  and  then 
nearly  running  us  down  under  a  Juggernaut?" 

"Oh,  there  must  be  some  mistake,  I'm  sure," 
returned  his  daughter.  "Tom  didn't  intend  this." 

"But,  bless  my  insurance  policy,  look  at  that 
thing  go!  What  in  the  world  is  it?"  cried  Mr. 
Damon. 

The  "thing"  was  certainly  going.  It  had  ca 
reened  from  the  road,  tilted  itself  down  into  a 
ditch  and  gone  on  across  the  fields,  lights  shoot 
ing  from  it  in  eccentric  fashion. 

"Maybe  we'd  better  take  after  it,"  suggested 

Mr.  Nestor.    "If  Tom  is " 

86 


TOM'S  TANK  81 

"There,  it's  stopping!"  cried  Ned.  "Come  on!" 

He  sprang  from  the  automobile,  helped  Mary 
to  get  out,  and  then  the  two,  followed  by  Mr. 
Damon  and  Mr.  Nestor,  made  their  way  across 
the  fields  toward  the  big  object  where  it  had  come 
to  a  stop,  the  rumbling  and  roaring  ceasing. 

Before  the  little  party  reached  the  strange  ma 
chine — the  "runaway  giant,"  as  they  dubbed  it  in 
their  excitement — a  bright  light  flashed  from  it, 
a  light  that  illuminated  their  path  right  up  to  the 
monster.  And  in  the  glare  of  this  light  they  saw 
Tom  Swift  stepping  out  through  a  steel  door  in 
the  side  of  the  affair. 

"Are  you  all  right?"  he  called  to  his  friends,  as 
they  approached. 

"All  right,  as  nearly  as  we  can  be  when  we've 
been  almost  scared  to  death,  Tom,"  said  Mr. 
Nestor. 

"I'm  surely  sorry  for  what  happened,"  Tom 
answered,  with  a  relieved  laugh.  "Part  of  the 
steering  gear  broke  and  I  had  to  guide  it  by  oper 
ating  the  two  motors  alternately.  It  can  be 
worked  that  way,  but  it  takes  a  little  practice  to 
become  expert." 

"I  should  say  so!"  cried  Mr.  Damon.  "But 
what  in  the  world  does  it  all  mean,  Tom  Swift? 
You  invite  us  out  to  see  something " 

"And  there  she  is!"  interrupted  the  young  in- 


88         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

ventor.  "You  saw  her  a  little  before  I  meant 
you  to,  and  not  under  exactly  the  circumstances 
I  had  planned.  But  there  she  is!"  And  he  turned 
as  though  introducing  the  metallic  monster  to  his 
friends. 

"What  is  she,  Tom?"  asked  Ned.    "Name  it!" 

"My  latest  invention,  or  rather  the  invention  of 
my  father  and  myself,"  answered  Tom,  and  his 
voice  showed  the  love  and  reverence  he  felt  for 
his  parent.  "Perhaps  I  should  say  adaptation  in 
stead  of  invention,"  Tom  went  on,  "since  that  is 
what  it  is.  But,  at  any  rate,  it's  my  latest — dad's 
and  mine — and  it's  the  newest,  biggest,  most  im 
proved  and  powerful  fighting  tank  that's  been 
turned  out  of  any  shop,  as  far  as  I  can  learn. 

"Ladies — I  mean  lady  and  gentlemen — allow 
me  to  present  to  you  War  Tank  A,  and  may  she 
rumble  till  the  pride  of  the  Boche  is  brought  low 
and  humble!"  cried  Tom. 

"Hurray!    That's  what  I  say!"  cheered  Ned. 

"That's  what  I  have  been  at  work  on  lately. 
I'll  give  you  a  little  history  of  it,  and  then  you 
may  come  inside  and  have  a  ride  home." 

"In  that?"  cried  Mr.  Damon. 

"Yes.  I  can't  promise  to  move  as  speedily  as 
your  car,  but  I  can  make  better  time  than  the 
British  tanks.  They  go  about  six  miles  an  hour* 


TOM'S  TANK  89 

I  understand,  and  I've  got  mine  geared  to  ten. 
That's  one  improvement  dad  and  I  have  made. " 

"Ride  in  that!"  cried  Mr.  Nestor.  "Tom,  I 
like  you,  and  I'm  glad  to  see  I've  been  mistaken 
about  you.  You  have  been  doing  your  bit,  after 
all;  but " 

"Oh,  I've  only  begun!"  laughed  Tom  Swift 

"Well,  no  matter  about  that.  However  much 
I  like  you,"  went  on  Mr.  Nestor,  "I'd  as  soon  ride 
on  the  wings  of  a  thunderbolt  as  in  Tank  A,  Tom 
Swift." 

"Oh,  it  isn't  as  bad  as  that!"  laughed  the  young 
scientist.  "But  neither  is  it  a  limousine.  How 
ever,  come  inside,  anyhow,  and  I'll  tell  you  some 
thing  about  it.  Then  I  guess  we  can  guide  1"* 
back.  The  men  are  repairing  the  break." 

The  visitors  entered  the  great  craft  through 
the  door  by  which  Tom  had  emerged.  At  first 
all  they  saw  was  a  small  compartment,  with  walls 
of  heavy  steel,  some  shelves  of  the  same  and  a 
seat  which  folded  up  against  the  wall  made  of 
like  powerful  material. 

"This  is  supposed  to  be  the  captain's  room, 
•where  he  stays  when  he  directs  matters,"  Tom 
explained.  "The  machinery  is  below  and  beyond, 
here." 

"How'd  you  come  to  evolve  this?"  asked  Ned. 


90          TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

"I  haven't  seen  half  enough  of  the  outside,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  inside." 

"You'll  have  time  enough,"  Tom  said.  "This 
is  my  first  completed  tank.  There  are  some  im 
provements  to  be  made  before  we  send  it  to  the 
other  side  to  be  copied. 

"Then  they'll  make  them  in  England  as  well  as 
here,  and  from  here  we'll  ship  them  in  sections."' 

"I  don't  see  how  you  ever  thought  of  it!"  ex 
claimed  the  girl,  in  wonder. 

"Well,  I  didn't  all  at  once,"  Tom  answered, 
with  a  laugh.  "It  came  by  degrees.  I  first  got 
the  idea  when  I  heard  of  the  British  tanks. 

"When  I  had  read  how  they  went  into  action, 
and  what  they  accomplished  against  the  barbed- 
wire  entanglements,  and  how  they  crossed  the 
trenches,  I  concluded  that  a  bigger  tank,  one 
Capable  of  more  speed,  say  ten  or  twelve  miles 
an  hour,  and  one  that  could  cross  bigger  excava 
tions — the  English  tanks  up  to  this  time  can  cross 
a  ditch  of  twelve  feet — I  thought  that,  with  one 
made  on  such  specifications,  more  effective  work 
could  be  done  against  the  Germans." 

"And  will  yours  do  that?"  asked  Ned.  "I 
mean  will  it  do  ten  miles  an  hour,  and  straddle 
over  a  wider  ditch  than  twelve  feet?" 

"It'll  do  both,"  promptly  answered  Tom.  "We 
idid  a  little  better  than  eleven  miles  an  hour  a 


TOM'S  TANK  91 

while  ago — when  I  yelled  to  you  to  get  out  of 
the  way  just  now.  It's  true  we  weren't  under 
good  control,  but  the  speed  had  nothing  to  do 
with  that.  And  as  for  going  over  a  big  ditch,  I 
think  we  straddled  one  about  fourteen  feet  across 
back  there,  and  we  can  do  better  when  I  get  my 
grippers  to  working." 

"Grippers!"  exclaimed  Mary. 

"What  kind  of  trench  slang  is  that,  Tom 
Swift?"  asked  Mr.  Damon. 

"Well,  that's  a  new  idea  I'm  going  to  try  out. 
It's  something  like  this,"  and  while  from  a  dis 
tant  part  of  the  interior  of  Tank  A  came  the 
sound  of  hammering,  the  young  inventor  rapidly 
drew  a  rough  pencil  sketch. 

It  showed  the  tank  in  outline,  much  as  appear 
the  pictures  of  tanks  already  in  service — the 
former  simile  of  two  wedge-shaped  pieces  of 
metal  put  together  broad  end  to  broad  end,  still 
holding  good.  From  one  end  of  the  tank,  as 
Tom  drew  it,  there  extended  two  long  arms  of 
latticed  steel  construction. 

"The  idea  is,"  said  Tom,  "to  lay  these  down 
in  front  of  the  tank,  by  means  of  cams  and  levers 
operated  from  inside.  If  we  get  to  a  ditch  which 
we  can't  climb  down  into  and  out  again,  or  bridge 
with  the  belt  caterpillar  wheels,  we'll  use  the 
grippers.  They'U  be  laid  down,  taking  a  grip  on 


92          TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

the  far  side  of  the  trench,  and  we'll  slide  across 
on  them." 

"And  leave  them  there?"  asked  Mr.  Damon. 

"No,  we  won't  leave  them.  We'll  pick  them 
up  after  we  have  passed  over  them  and  use  them 
in  front  again  as  we  need  them.  A  couple  of 
extra  pairs  of  grippers  may  be  carried  for  emer 
gencies,  but  I  plan  to  use  the  same  ones  over  and 
over  again." 

"But  what  makes  it  go?"  asked  Mary.  "I 
don't  want  all  the  details,  Tom,"  she  said,  with  a 
smile,  "but  I'd  like  to  know  what  makes  your 
tank  move." 

"I'll  be  able  to  show  you  in  a  little  while,"  he 
answered.  "But  it  may  be  enough  now  if  I  tell 
you  that  the  main  power  consists  of  two  big  gas 
olene  engines,  one  on  either  side.  They  can  be 
geared  to  operate  together  or  separately.  And 
these  engines  turn  the  endless  belts  made  of 
broad,  steel  plates,  on  which  the  tank  travels. 
The  belts  pass  along  the  outer  edges  of  the  tank 
longitudinally,  and  go  around  cogged  wheels  at 
either  end  of  the  blunt  noses. 

"When  both  belts  travel  at  the  same  rate  of 
speed  the  tank  goes  in  a  straight  line,  though  it 
can  be  steered  from  side  to  side  by  means  of  a 
trailer  wheel  in  the  rear.  Making  one  belt — one 
set  of  caterpillar  wheels,  you  know — go  faster 


TOM'S  TANK  98 

than  the  other  will  make  the  tank  travel  to  one 
side  or  the  other,  the  turn  being  in  the  direction 
of  the  slowest  moving  belt.  In  this  way  we  can 
steer  when  the  trailer  wheels  are  broken." 

"And  what  does  your  tank  do  except  travel 
along,  not  minding  a  hail  of  bullets?"  asked  Mr. 
Nestor. 

"Well,"  answered  Tom,  "it  can  do  anything 
any  other  tank  can  do,  and  then  some  more.  It 
can  demolish  a  good-sized  house  or  heavy  wall, 
break  down  big  trees,  and  chew  up  barbed-wire 
fences  as  if  they  were  toothpicks.  I'll  show  you 
all  that  in  due  time.  Just  now,  if  the  repairs  are 
.finished,  we  can  get  back  on  the  road " 

At  that  moment  a  door  leading  into  the  com 
partment  where  Tom  and  his  friends  were  talk 
ing  opened,  and  one  of  the  workmen  said : 

"A  man  outside  asking  to  see  you,  Mr.  Swift." 

"Pardon  me,  but  I  won't  keep  you  a  moment," 
interrupted  a  suave  voice.  "I  happened  to  ob 
serve  your  tank,  and  I  took  the  liberty  of  enter 
ing  to  see " 

"Simpson!"  cried  Ned  Newton,  as  he  recog 
nized  the  man  who  had  been  up  the  tree.  "It's 
that  spy,  Simpson,  Tom!" 


CHAPTER   XII 

BRIDGING   A   GAP 

SUCH  surprise  showed  both  on  the  face  of  Ned 
Newton  and  that  of  the  man  who  called  himself 
Walter  Simpson  that  it  would  be  hard  to  say 
which  was  in  the  greater  degree.  For  a  moment 
the  newcomer  stood  as  if  he  had  received  an 
electric  shock,  and  was  incapable  of  motion. 
Then,  as  the  echoes  of  Ned's  voice  died  away  and 
the  young  bank  clerk,  being  the  first  to  recover 
from  the  shock,  made  a  motion  toward  the  un 
welcome  and  uninvited  intruder,  Simpson  ex 
claimed  : 

"I  will  not  bother  now.  Some  other  time  will 
do  as  well." 

Then,  with  a  haste  that  could  be  called  nothing 
less  than  precipitate,  he  made  a  turn  and  fairly 
shot  out  of  the  door  by  which  he  had  entered  the 
tank. 

"There  he  goes!"  cried  Mr.  Damon.  "Bless 
my  speedometer,  but  there  he  goes!" 

94 


BRIDGING  A  GAP  95 

"I'll  stop  him !"  cried  Ned.  "We've  got  to  find 
out  more  about  him !  I'll  get  him,  Tom !" 

Tom  Swift  was  not  one  to  let  a  friend  rush 
alone  into  what  might  be  danger.  He  realized 
immediately  what  his  chum  meant  when  he  called 
out  the  identity  of  the  intruder,  and,  wishing  to 
clear  up  some  of  the  mystery  of  which  he  became 
aware  when  Schwen  was  arrested  and  the  papers 
showing  a  correspondence  with  this  Simpson 
were  found,  Tom  darted  out  to  try  to  assist  in 
the  capture. 

"He  went  this  way!"  cried  Ned,  who  was  vis 
ible  in  the  glare  of  the  searchlight  that  still  played 
its  powerful  beams  over  the  stern  of  the  tank,  if 
such  an  ungainly  machine  can  be  said  to  have  a 
bow  and  stern.  "Over  this  way!" 

"I'm  with  you!"  cried  Tom.  "See  if  you  can 
pick  up  that  man  who  just  ran  out  of  here!"  he 
cried  to  the  operator  of  the  searchlight  in  the 
elevated  observation  section  of  what  corresponded 
to  the  conning  tower  of  a  submarine.  This  was 
a  sort  of  lookout  box  on  top  of  the  tank,  con 
taining,  among  other  machines,  the  searchlight., 
"Pick  him  up!"  cried  Tom. 

The  operator  flashed  the  intense  white  beam, 
like  a  finger  of  light,  around  in  eccentric  circles. 
But  though  this  brought  into  vivid  relief  the  con 
figuration  of  the  field  and  road  near  which  the 


96          TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

tank  was  stalled,  it  showed  no  running  fugitive. 
Tom  and  Ned  were  observed — shadows  of  black 
in  the  glare — by  Mary  and  her  friends  in  the 
tank,  but  there  was  no  one  else. 

"Come  on!"  cried  Ned.  "We  can  find  him, 
Tom!" 

But  this  was  easier  said  than  done.  Even 
though  they  were  aided  by  the  bright  light,  they 
caught  no  glimpse  of  the  man  who  called  himself 
Simpson. 

"Guess  he  got  away,"  said  Tom,  when  he  and 
Ned  had  circled  about  and  investigated  many 
clumps  of  bushes,  trees,  stumps  and  other  bar 
riers  that  might  conceal  the  fugitive. 

"I  guess  so,"  agreed  Ned.  "Unless  he's  hiding 
in  what  we  might  call  a  shell  crater." 

"Hardly  that,"  and  Tom  smiled.  "Though  if 
all  goes  well  the  men  who  operate  this  tank  later 
may  be  searching  for  men  in  real  shell  holes." 

"Is  this  one  going  to  the  other  side?"  asked 
Ned,  as  the  two  walked  back  toward  the  tank. 

"I  hope  it  will  be  the  first  of  my  new  machines 
on  the  Western  front,"  Tom  answered.  "But 
I've  still  got  to  perfect  it  in  some  details  and  then 
take  it  apart.  After  that,  if  it  comes  up  to  ex 
pectations,  we'll  begin  making  them  in  quanti 
ties." 

"Did  you  get  him?"  asked  Mr.  Damon  eagerly, 


BRIDGING  A  GAP  97 

as  the  two  young  men  came  back  to  join  Mary 
and  her  friends. 

"No,  he  got  away,"  Tom  answered. 

"Did  he  try  to  blow  up  the  tank?"  asked  Mr 
Nestor,  who  had  an  abnormal  fear  of  explosives. 
"Was  he  a  German  spy?" 

"I  think  he's  that,  all  right,"  said  Ned  grimly. 
"As  to  his  endeavoring  to  blow  up  Tom's  tank,  I 
believe  him  capable  of  it,  though  he  didn't  try  it 
to-night — unless  he's  planted  a  time  bomb  some 
where  about,  Tom." 

"Hardly,  I  guess,"  answered  the  young  in 
ventor.  "He  didn't  have  a  chance  to  do  that 
Anyhow  we  won't  remain  here  long.  Now,  Ned, 
what  about  this  chap?  Is  he  really  the  one  you 
saw  up  in  the  tree?" 

"I  not  only  saw  him  but  I  felt  him,"  answered 
-Ned,  with  a  rueful  look  at  his  fingers.  "He 
stepped  right  on  me.  And  when  he  came  inside 
the  tank  to-night  I  knew  him  at  once.  I  guess 
he  was  as  surprised  to  see  me  as  I  was  to  see 
him." 

"But  what  was  his  object?"  asked  Mr.  Nestor. 

"He  must  have  some  connection  with  my  old 
enemy,  Blakeson,"  answered  Tom,  "and  we  know 
he's  mixed  up  with  Schwen.  From  the  looks  of 
him  I  should  say  that  this  Simpson,  as  he  calls 
himself,  is  the  directing  head  of  the  whole  busi- 


98          TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

ness.  He  looks  to  be  the  moneyed  man,  and  the 
brains  of  the  plotters.  Blakeson  is  smart,  in  a 
mechanical  way,  and  Schwen  is  one  of  the  best 
machinists  I've  ever  employed.  But  this  Simpson 
strikes  me  as  being  the  slick  one  of  the  trio." 

"But  what  made  him  come  here,  and  what  did 
he  want?"  asked  Mary.  "Dear  me!  it's  like  one 
of  those  moving  picture  plots,  only  I  never  saw 
one  with  a  tank  in  it  before — I  mean  a  tank  like 
yours,  Tom." 

"Yes,  it  is  a  bit  like  moving  pictures — espe 
cially  chasing  Simpson  by  searchlight,"  agreed 
the  young  inventor.  "As  to  what  he  wanted,  I 
suppose  he  came  to  spy  out  some  of  my  secret 
inventions — dad's  and  mine.  He's  probably  been 
hiding  and  sneaking  around  the  works  ever  since 
we  arrested  Schwen.  Some  of  my  men  have  re 
ported  seeing  strangers  about,  but  I  have  kept 
Shop  Thirteen  well  guarded. 

"However,  this  fellow  may  have  been  waiting 
outside,  and  he  may  have  followed  the  tank  when 
we  started  off  a  little  while  ago  for  the  night  test. 
Then,  when  he  saw  our  mishap  and  noticed  that 
we  were  stalled,  he  came  in,  boldly  enough,  think 
ing,  I  suppose,  that,  as  I  had  never  seen  him,  he 
would  take  a  chance  on  getting  as  much  informa 
tion  as  he  could  in  a  hurry." 


BRIDGING  A  GAP  99 

"But  he  didn't  count  on  Ned's  being  here!" 
chuckled  Mr.  Damon. 

"No;  that's  where  he  slipped  a  cog,"  remarked 
Mr.  Nestor.  "Well,  Tom,  I  like  your  tank,  what 
I've  seen  of  her,  but  it's  getting  late  and  I  think 
Mary  and  I  had  better  be  getting  back  home." 

"We'll  be  ready  to  start  in  a  little  while,"  Tom 
said,  after  a  brief  consultation  with  one  of  his 
men.  "Still,  perhaps  it  would  be  just  as  well  if 
you  didn't  ride  back  with  me.  She  may  go  all 
right,  and  then,  again,  she  may  not.  And  as  it's 
dark,  and  we're  in  a  rough  part  of  the  field,  you 
might  be  a  bit  shaken  up.  Not  that  the  tank 
minds  it!"  the  young  inventor  hastened  to  add. 
"She's  got  to  do  her  bit  over  worse  places  than 
this — much  worse — but  I  want  to  get  her  in  a 
little  better  working  shape  first.  So  if  you  don't 
mind,  Mary,  I'll  postpone  your  initial  trip." 

"Oh,  I  don't  mind,  Tom!  I'm  so  glad  you've 
made  this!  I  want  to  see  the  war  ended,  and  I 
think  machines  like  this  will  help." 

"I'll  ride  back  with  you,  Tom,  if  you  don't 
mind,"  put  in  Ned.  "I  guess  a  little  shaking  up 
won't  hurt  me." 

"All  right — stick.  We're  going  to  start  very 
soon." 

"Well,  I'm  coming  over  to-morrow  to  have  a 


100        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

look  at  it  by  daylight,"  said  Mr.  Damon,  as  he 
started  toward  his  car. 

"So  am  I,"  added  Mary.  "Please  call  for  me, 
Mr.  Damon." 

"I  will,"  he  promised." 

Mr.  Nestor,  his  daughter,  and  Mr.  Damon 
went  back  to  the  automobile,  while  Ned  remained 
with  Tom.  In  a  little  while  those  in  the  car 
heard  once  more  the  rumbling  and  roaring  sound 
and  felt  the  earth  tremble.  Then,  with  a  flash 
ing  of  lights,  the  big,  ungainly  shape  of  the  tank 
lifted  herself  out  of  the  little  ditch  in  which  she 
had  come  to  a  halt,  and  began  to  climb  back  to 
the  road. 

Ned  Newton  stood  beside  Tom  in  the  control 
tower  of  the  great  tank  as  she  started  on  her 
homeward  way. 

"Isn't  it  wonderful!"  murmured  Mary,  as  she 
saw  Tank  A  lumbering  along  toward  the  road. 
"Oh,  and  to  think  that  human  beings  made  that? 
To  think  that  Tom  should  know  how  to  build 
such  a  wonderful  machine!" 

"And  run  it,  too,  Mary!  That's  the  point! 
Make  it  run!"  cried  her  father.  "I  tell  you,  that 
Tom  Swift  is  a  wonder!" 

"Bless  my  dictionary,  he  sure  is!"  agreed  Mr. 
Damon. 

Along  the  road,  back  toward  the  shop  whence 


BRIDGING  A  GAP  101 

it  Had  emerged,  rumbled  the  tank.  The  noise 
brought  to  their  doors  inhabitants  along  the  coun 
try  thoroughfare,  and  some  of  them  were  fright 
ened  when  they  saw  Tom  Swift's  latest  war  ma 
chine,  the  details  of  which  they  could  only  guess 
$t  in  the  darkness. 

"She'll  butt  over  a  house  if  it  gets  in  her  path, 
knock  down  trees,  chew  up  barbed-wire,  and 
climb  down  into  ravines  and  out  again,  and  go 
over  a  good-sized  stream  without  a  whimper," 
said  Tom,  as  he  steered  the  great  machine. 

There  was  little  chance  then  for  Ned  to  see 
much  of  the  inside  mechanism  of  the  tank.  He 
observed  that  Tom,  standing  in  the  forward  tow 
er,  steered  it  very  easily  by  a  small  wheel  or  by 
a  lever,  alternately,  and  that  he  communicated 
with  the  engine  room  by  means  of  electric 
signals. 

"And  she  steers  by  electricity,  too,"  Tom  told 
his  friend.  "That  was  one  difficulty  with  the 
first  tanks.  They  had  to  be  steered  by  brute 
force,  so  to  speak,  and  it  was  a  terrific  strain  on 
the  man  in  the  tower.  Now  I  can  guide  this  in 
two  ways:  by  the  electric  mechanism  which 
swings  the  trailer  wheels  to  either  side,  or  by 
varying  the  speed  of  the  two  motors  that  work 
the  caterpillar  belts.  So  if  one  breaks  down,  I 
have  the  other." 


102       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

"Got  any  guns  aboard  her — I  mean  machine 
guns?"  asked  Ned. 

"Not  yet.  But  I'm  going  to  install  some.  I 
wanted  to  get  the  tank  in  proper  working  order 
first.  The  guns  are  only  incidental,  though  of 
course  they're  vitally  necessary  when  she  goes 
into  action.  I've  got  'em  all  ready  to  put  in. 
But  first  I'm  going  to  try  the  grippers." 

"Oh,  you  mean  the  gap-bridgers?"  asked  Ned. 

"That's  it,"  answered  Tom.  "Look  out,  we're 
going  over  a  rough  spot  now." 

And  they  did.  Ned  was  greatly  shaken  up, 
and  fairly  tossed  from  side  to  side  of  the  steer 
ing  tower.  For  the  tank  contained  no  springs, 
except  such  as  were  installed  around  the  more 
delicate  machinery,  and  it  was  like  riding  in  a 
dump  cart  over  a  very  rough  road. 

"However,  that's  part  of  the  game,"  Tom  ob 
served. 

Tank  A  reached  her  "harbor"  safely — in  other 
words,  the  machine  shop  enclosed  by  the  high 
fence,  inside  of  which  she  had  been  built. 

Tom  and  Ned  made  some  inquiries  of  Koku 
and  Eradicate  as  to  whether  or  not  there  had 
been  any  unusual  sights  or  sounds  about  the  place. 
They  feared  Simpson  might  have  come  to  the 
shop  to  try  to  get  possession  of  important  draw* 
ings  or  data. 


BRIDGING  A  GAP  103  ( 

But  all  had  been  quiet,  Koku  reported.  Nor 
had  Eradicate  seen  or  heard  anything  out  of  the 
ordinary. 

"Then  I  guess  we'll  lock  up  and  turn  in,"  de 
cided  Tom.  "Come  over  to-morrow,  Ned." 

"I  will,"  promised  the  young  bank  clerk.  "I 
want  to  see  more  of  what  makes  the  wheels  go 
round."  And  he  laughed  at  his  own  ingenu 
ousness. 

The  next  day  Tom  showed  his  friends  as  mucK 
as  they  cared  to  see  about  the  workings  of  the 
tank.  They  inspected  the  powerful  gasolene  en 
gines,  saw  how  they  worked  the  endless  belts 
made  of  plates  of  jointed  steel,  which,  running 
over  sprocket  wheels,  really  gave  the  tank  its 
power  by  providing  great  tractive  force. 

Any  self-propelled  vehicle  depends  for  its 
power,  either  to  move  itself  or  to  push  or  to  pull, 
on  its  tractive  force — that  is,  the  grip  it  can  get 
on  the  ground. 

In  the  case  of  a  bicycle  little  tractive  power  is 
needed,  and  this  is  provided  by  the  rubber  tires, 
which  grip  the  ground.  A  locomotive  depends 
for  its  tractive  power  on  its  weight  pressing  on 
its  driving  wheels,  and  the  more  driving  wheels 
there  are  and  the  heavier  the  locomotive,  the 
more  it  can  pull,  though  in  that  case  speed  is  lost. 
This  is  why  freight  locomotives  are  so  heavy  and 


104        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

have  so  many  large  driving  wheels.  They  pull 
the  engine  along,  and  the  cars  also,  by  their 
weight  pressing  on  the  rails. 

The  endless  steel  belts  of  a  tank  are  the  same 
as  the  driving  wheels  of  a  locomotive.  And  the 
belts  being  very  broad,  which  gives  them  a  large 
surface  with  which  to  press  on  the  ground,  and 
the  tank  being  very  heavy,  great  power  to  ad 
vance  is  thus  obtained,  though  at  the  sacrifice  of 
speed.  However,  Tom  Swift  had  made  his  tank 
so  that  it  would  do  about  ten  miles  and  more  an 
hour,  nearly  double  the  progress  obtained  up  to 
that  time  by  the  British  machines. 

His  visitors  saw  the  great  motors,  they  in 
spected  the  compact  but  not  very  attractive  living 
quarters  of  the  crew,  for  provision  had  to  be 
made  for  the  men  to  stay  in  the  tank  if,  per 
chance,  it  became  stalled  in  No  Man's  Land,  sur 
rounded  by  the  enemy. 

The  tank  was  powerfully  armored  and  would 
be  armed.  There  were  a  number  of  machine  guns 
to  be  installed,  quick-firers  of  various  types,  and 
in  addition  the  tank  could  carry  a  number  of 
riflemen. 

It  was  upon  the  crushing  power  of  the  tank, 
though,  that  most  reliance  was  placed.  Thus  it 
could  lead  the  way  for  an  infantry  advance 
through  the  enemy's  lines,  making  nothing  of 


BRIDGING  A  GAP  105" 

barbed  wire  that  would  take  an  artillery  fire  of 
several  days  to  cut  to  pieces. 

"And  now,  Ned,"  said  Tom,  about  a  week 
after  the  night  test  of  the  tank,  "I'm  going  to  try 
what  she'll  do  in  bridging  a  gap." 

"Have  you  got  her  in  shape  again?" 

"Yes,  everything  is  all  right.  I've  taken  out 
the  weak  part  in  the  steering  gear  that  nearly 
caused  us  to  run  you  down,  and  we're  safe  in 
that  respect  now.  And  I've  got  the  grippers 
made.  It  only  remains  to  see  whether  they're 
strong  enough  to  bear  the  weight  of  my  little 
baby,"  and  Tom  affectionately  patted  the  steel 
sides  of  Tank  A. 

While  his  men  were  getting  the  machine  ready 
for  a  test  out  on  the  road,  and  for  a  journey 
across  a  small  stream  not  far  away,  Tom  told  his 
chum  about  conceiving  the  idea  for  the  tank  and 
carrying  it  out  secretly  with  the  aid  of  his  father 
and  certain  workmen. 

"That's  the  reason  the  government  exempted 
me  from  enlisting,"  Tom  said.  "They  wanted  me 
to  finish  this  tank.  I  didn't  exactly  want  to,  but  I 
considered  it  my  'bit.'  After  this  I'm  going  into 
the  army,  Ned." 

"Glad  to  hear  it,  old  man.  Maybe  by  that  time 
I'll  have  this  Liberty  Bond  work  finished,  and  I'll 
go  with  you.  We'll  have  great  times  together! 


106        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

Have  you  heard  anything  more  of  Simpson, 
Blakeson  and  Scoundrels?"  And  Ned  laughed 
as  he  named  this  "firm." 

"No,"  answered  Tom.  "I  guess  we  scared  off 
that  slick  German  spy." 

Once  more  the  tank  lumbered  out  along  the 
road.  It  was  a  mighty  engine  of  war,  and  inside 
her  rode  Tom  and  Ned.  Mary  and  her  father 
had  been  invited,  but  the  girl  could  not  quite  get 
her  courage  to  the  point  of  accepting,  nor  did  Mr. 
Nestor  care  to  go.  Mr.  Damon,  however,  ai 
might  be  guessed,  was  there. 

"Bless  my  monkey  wrench,  Tom!"  cried  ths 
eccentric  man,  as  he  noted  their  advance  over 
some  rough  ground,  "are  you  really  going  to 
make  this  machine  cross  Tinkle  Creek  on  a  bridge 
of  steel  you  carry  with  you?" 
/  "I'm  going  to  try,  Mr.  Damon." 

A  little  later,  after  a  successful  test  up  and 
down  a  small  gully,  Tank  A  arrived  at  the  edge 
of  Tinkle  Creek,  a  small  stream  about  twenty  feet 
wide,  not  far  from  Tom's  home.  At  the  point 
selected  for  the  test  the  banks  were  high  and 
steep. 

"If  she  bridges  that  gap  she'll  do  anything," 
murmured  Ned,  as  the  tank  came  to  a  stop  on 
the  edge. 


CHAPTER   XIII 

INTO   A   TRENCH 

TOM  cast  a  hasty  glance  over  the  mechanism  D| 
the  machine  before  he  started  to  cross  the  stream 
by  the  additional  aid  of  the  grippers,  or  spanners, 
as  he  sometimes  called  this  latest  device. 

Along  each  side,  in  a  row  of  sockets,  were  two 
long  girders  of  steel,  latticed  like  the  main  sup 
ports  of  a  bridge.  They  were  of  peculiar  trian 
gular  construction,  designed  to  support  heavy 
weights,  and  each  end  was  broadly  flanged  to 
prevent  its  sinking  too  deeply  into  the  earth  on 
either  side  of  a  gully  or  a  stream. 

The  grippers  also  had  a  sort  of  clawlike  ar 
rangement  on  either  end,  working  on  the  prin 
ciple  of  an  "orange-peel"  shovel,  and  these  claws 
were  designed  to  grip  the  earth  to  prevent 
slipping. 

The  spanners  would  be  pulled  out  from  their 

sockets  on  the  side  of  the  tank  by  means  of  steel 

cables,  which  were  operated  from  within.     They 

would  be  run  out  across  the  gap  and  fastened  in 

107 


108        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

place.  The  tank  was  designed  to  travel  along 
them  to  the  other  side  of  the  gap,  and,  once  there, 
to  pick  up  the  girders,  slip  them  back  into  place 
on  the  sides,  and  the  engine  of  war  would 
travel  on. 

"You  are  mightily  excited,  Tom." 

"I  admit  it,  Ned.  You  see,  I  have  not  tried 
the  grippers  out  except  on  a  small  model.  They 
worked  there,  but  whether  they  will  work  in 
practice  remains  to  be  seen.  Of  course,  at  this 
stage,  I'm  willing  to  stake  my  all  on  the  results, 
but  there  is  always  a  half -question  until  the  final 
try-out  under  practical  conditions." 

"Well,  we'll  soon  see,"  said  one  of  the  work 
men.  "Are  you  ready,  Mr.  Swift?" 

"All  ready,"  answered  Tom. 

Tank  A,  as  she  was  officially  known,  had  come 
to  a  stop,  as  has  been  said,  on  the  very  edge  of 
Tinkle  Creek.  The  banks  were  fairly  solid  here, 
and  descended  precipitously  to  the  water  ten  feet 
below.  The  shores  were  about  twenty  feet  apart. 

"Suppose  the  spanners  break  when  you're  half 
way  over,  Tom?"  asked  his  chum. 

"I  don't  like  to  suppose  anything  of  the  sort 
But  if  they  do,  we're  going  down!" 

"Can  you  get  up  again?" 

"That  remains  to  be  seen,"  was  the  non-com 
mittal  reply.  "Well,  here  goes,  anyhow!" 


'INTO  A  TRENCH  109 

Going  up  into  the  observation  tower,  which  was 
Only  slightly  raised  above  the  roof  of  the  highest 
part  of  the  tank,  Tom  gave  the  signal  for 
the  motors  to  start.  There  was  a  trembling 
throughout  the  whole  of  the  vast  structure. 
Tom  threw  back  a  lever  and  Ned,  peering  from 
a  side  observation  slot,  beheld  a  strange 
sight. 

Like  the  main  arm  of  some  great  steam  shovel, 
two  long,  latticed  girders  of  steel  shot  out  from 
the  sides  of  the  tank.  They  gave  a  half  turn,  as 
they  were  pulled  forward  by  the  steel  ropes,  so 
that  they  lay  with  their  broader  surfaces  upper 
most. 

Straight  across  the  stream  they  were  pulled, 
their  clawlike  ends  coming  to  a  rest  on  the  oppo 
site  bank.  Then  they  were  tightened  into  place 
by  a  backward  pull  on  the  operating  cables,  andi 
[Tom,  with  a  sigh  of  relief,  announced: 

"Well,  so  far  so  good!" 

"Do  we  go  over  now?"  inquired  Ned. 

"Over  the  top — yes,  I  hope,"  answered  Tom, 
with  a  laugh.  "How  about  you  down  there?"  he 
called  to  the  engine  room  through  a  telephone;' 
which  could  only  be  used  when  the  machinery 
was  not  in  action,  there  being  too  much  noise  to 
permit  the  use  of  any  but  visual  signals  after 
that. 


110        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

"All  right,"  came  back  the  answer.  "We're 
ready  when  you  are." 

"Then  here  we  go!"  said  Tom.  "Hold  fast, 
Ned !  Of  course  there's  no  real  telling  what  will 
happen,  though  I  believe  we'll  come  out  of  it 
alive." 

"Cheerful  prospect,"  murmured  Ned. 

The  grippers  were  now  in  place.  It  only  re 
mained  for  the  tank  to  propel  herself  over  them, 
pick  them  up  on  the  other  side  of  Tinkle  Creek, 
and  proceed  on  her  course. 

Tom  Swift  hesitated  a  moment,  one  hand  on 
the  starting  lever  and  the  other  on  the  steering 
wheel.  Then,  with  a  glance  at  Ned,  half  whimsi 
cal  and  half  resolute,  Tom  started  Tank  A  on 
what  might  prove  to  be  her  last  journey. 

Slowly  the  ponderous  caterpillar  belts  moved 
around  on  the  sprocket  wheels.  They  ground 
with  a  clash  of  steel  on  the  surface  of  the  span 
ners.  So  long  was  the  tank  that  the  forward 
end,  or  the  "nose,"  was  halfway  across  the  stream 
before  the  bottom  part  of  the  endless  belts  gripped 
the  latticed  bridge. 

"If  we  fall,  we'll  span  the  creek,  not  fall  into 
it,"  murmured  Ned,  as  he  looked  from  the  ob 
servation  slot 

"That's  what  I  counted  on,"  Tom  said.  ".We'll 
get  out,  even  if  we  do  fall." 


INTO  A  TRENCH  HI 

But  Tank  A  was  not  destined  to  fall.  In  an~ 
other  moment  her  entire  weight  rested  on  the 
novel  and  transportable  bridge  Tom  Swift  had 
evolved.  Then,  as  the  gripping  ends  of  the  gir 
ders  sank  farther  into  the  soil,  the  tank  went  on 
her  way. 

Slowly,  at  half  speed,  she  crawled  over  the  steel 
beams,  making  progress  over  the  creek  and  as 
safely  above  the  water  as  though  on  a  regularly 
constructed  bridge. 

On  and  on  she  went.  Now  her  entire  weight 
was  over  the  middle  of  the  temporary  structures. 
If  they  were  going  to  give  way  at  all,  it  would  be 
at  this  point.  But  they  did  not  give.  The  lat 
ticed  and  triangular  steel,  than  which  there  is  no 
stronger  form  of  construction,  held  up  the  im 
mense  weight  of  Tank  A,  and  on  this  novel 
bridge  she  propelled  herself  across  Tinkle  Creek. 

"Well,  the  worst  is  over,"  remarked  Ned,  as  he 
saw  the  nose  of  the  tank  project  beyond  the  far 
thermost  bank. 

"Yes,  even  if  they  collapse  now  nothing  much 
can  happen,"  Tom  answered.  "It  won't  be  any 
worse  than  wallowing  down  into  a  trench  and  out 
again.  But  I  think  the  spanners  will  hold." 

And  hold  they  did !  They  held,  giving  way  not 
a  fraction  of  an  inch,  until  the  tank  was  safely 
across,  and  then,  after  a  little  delay,  due  to  a 


112       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

jamming  of  one  of  the  recovery  cables,  the  span 
ners  were  picked  up,  slid  into  the  receiving  sock 
ets,  and  the  great  war  engine  was  ready  to  pro 
ceed  again. 

"Hurrah!"  cried  Ned.  "She  did  it,  Tom,  old 
man!"  and  he  clapped  his  chum  resoundingly  on 
the  back. 

"She  certainly  did!"  was  the  answer.  "But 
you  needn't  knock  me  apart  telling  me  that.  Go 
easy!" 

"Bless  my  apple  pie!"  cried  Mr.  Damon,  who 
Was  as  much  pleased  as  either  of  the  boys,  "this  is 
What  I  call  great!" 

"Yes,  she  did  all  that  I  could  have  hoped  for," 
laid  Tom.  "Now  for  the  next  test." 

"Bless  my  collar  button!  is  there  another?" 

"Just  down  into  a  trench  and  out  again,"  Tom 
said.  "This  is  comparatively  simple.  It's  only 
what  she'll  have  to  do  every  day  in  Flanders. " 

The  tank  waddled  on.  A  duck's  sidewise  walk 
is  about  the  only  kind  of  motion  that  can  be  com 
pared  to  it.  The  going  was  easier  now,  for  it  was 
across  a  big  field,  and  Tom  told  his  friends  that 
at  the  other  end  was  a  deep,  steep  and  rocky 
ravine  in  which  he  had  decided  to  give  the  tank 
another  test. 

"We'll  imagine  that  ravine  is  a  trench,"  he 
said,  "and  that  we've  got  to  get  on  the  other  side 


INTO  A  TRENCH  113 

of  it.  Of  course,  we  won't  be  under  fire,  as  the 
tanks  will  be  at  the  front,  but  aside  from  that  the 
test  will  be  just  as  severe." 

A  little  later  Tank  A  brought  her  occupants  to 
the  edge  of  the  "trench." 

"Now,  little  girl,"  cried  Tom  exultingly,  pat 
ting  the  rough  steel  side  of  his  tank,  "show  them 
what  you  can  do!" 

"Bless  my  plum  pudding!"  cried  Mr.  Damon, 
"are  you  really  going  down  there,  Tom  Swift?" 

"I  am,"  answered  the  young  inventor.  "It 
won't  be  dangerous.  We'll  crawl  down  and  crawl 
out  Hold  fast!" 

He  steered  the  machine  straight  for  the  edge  of 
the  ravine,  and  as  the  nose  slipped  over  and  the 
broad  steel  belts  bit  into  the  earth  the  tank  tilted 
downward  at  a  sickening  angle. 

She  appeared  to  be  making  the  descent  safely, 
when  there  was  a  sudden  change.  The  earth 
seemed  to  slip  out  from  under  the  broad  cater 
pillar  belts,  and  then  the  tank  moved  more 
rapidly. 

"Tom,  we're  turning  over!"  shouted  Ned. 
"We're  capsizing!" 


CHAPTER   XIV 

THE   RUINED   FACTORY 

too  true  were  the  words  Ned  Newton 
shouted  to  his  chum.  Tank  A  was  really  capsiz 
ing.  She  had  advanced  to  the  edge  of  the  gully 
and  started  down  it,  moving  slowly  on  the  cater 
pillar  bands  of  steel.  Then  had  come  a  sudden 
lurch,  caused,  as  they  learned  afterward,  by  the 
slipping  off  of  a  great  quantity  of  shale  from  an 
underlying  shelf  of  rock. 

This  made  unstable  footing  for  the  tank.  One 
side  sank  lower  than  the  other,  and  before  Tom 
could  neutralize  this  by  speeding  up  one  motor 
and  slowing  down  the  other  the  tank  slowly 
turned  over  on  its  side. 

"But  she  isn't  going  to  stop  here!"  cried  Ned, 
as  he  found  himself  thrown  about  like  a  pill  in  a 
box.  "We're  going  all  the  way  over!" 

"Let  her  go  over!"  cried  Tom,  not  that  he 
could  stop  the  tank  now.     "It  won't  hurt  her. 
She's  built  *or  iust  this  sort  of  thing!" 
114 


THE  RUINED  FACTORY  115 

And  over  Tank  A  did  go.  Over  and  over  she 
rolled,  sidewise,  tumbling  and  sliding  down  the 
shale  sides  of  the  great  gully. 

"Hold  fast !  Grab  the  rings !"  cried  Tom  to  his 
two  companions  in  the  tower  with  him.  "That's 
what  they're  for!" 

Ned  and  Mr.  Damon  understood.  In  fact,  the 
latter  had  already  done  as  Tom  suggested.  The 
young  inventor  had  read  that  the  British  tanks 
frequently  turned  turtle,  and  he  had  this  in  mind 
when  he  made  provision  in  his  own  for  the  safety 
of  passengers  and  crew. 

As  soon  as  he  felt  the  tank  careening,  Tom  had 
pressed  the  signal  ordering  the  motors  stopped, 
and  now  only  the  force  of  gravity  was  oper 
ating.  But  that  was  sufficient  to  carry  the  big 
machine  to  the  bottom  of  the  gulch,  whither 
she  slid  with  a  great  cloud  of  sand,  shale  and 
dust. 

"Bless  my — bless  my "  Mr.  Damon  was 

murmuring,  but  he  was  so  flopped  about,  tossed 
from  one  side  to  the  other,  and  it  took  so  much 
of  his  attention  and  strength  to  hold  on  to  the 
safety  ring,  that  he  could  not  properly  give  vent 
to  one  of  his  favorite  expressions. 

But  there  comes  an  end  to  all  things,  even  to 
the  descent  of  a  tank,  and  Tom's  big  machine! 
soon  stopped  rolling,  sliding,  and  turning  impro 


116        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

vised  somersaults,  and  rested  in  a  pile  of  soft 
shale  at  the  bottom  of  the  gully.  And  the  tank 
was  resting  on  her  back ! 

"We've  turned  turtle!"  cried  Ned,  as  he  noted 
that  he  was  standing  on  what,  before,  had  been 
the  ceiling  of  the  observation  tower.  But  as 
everything  was  of  steel,  and  as  there  was  no 
movable  furniture,  no  great  harm  was  done.  In 
fact,  one  could  as  well  walk  on  the  ceiling  of  the 
tank  as  on  the  floor. 

"But  how  are  you  going  to  get  her  right  side 
up?"  asked  Mr.  Damon. 

"Oh,  turning  upside  down  is  only  one  of  the 
stunts  of  the  game.  I  can  right  her,"  was  the 
answer. 

"How?"  asked  Ned. 

"Well,  she'll  right  herself  if  there's  ground 
enough  for  the  steel  belts  to  get  a  grip  on." 

"But  can  the  motors  work  upside  down?" 

"They  surely  can!"  responded  Tom.  "I  made 
'em  that  way  on  purpose.  The  gasolene  feeds  by 
air  pressure,  and  that  works  standing  on  its  head, 
as  well  as  any  other  way.  It's  going  to  be  a  bit 
awkward  for  the  men  to  operate  the  controls,  but 
we  won't  be  this  way  long.  Before  I  start  to 
right  her,  though,  I  want  to  make  sure  nothing  is 
broken." 

Tom  signaled  to  the  engine  room,  and,  as  the 


THE  RUINED  FACTORY  117 

power  was  off  and  the  speaking  tube  could  be 
used,  he  called  through  it  : 

"How  are  you  down  there?" 

"Right-o!"  came  back  the  answer  from  a  little 
Englishman  Tom  had  hired  because  he  knew; 
something  about  the  British  tanks.  "  'Twas  a 
bit  of  nastiness  for  a  while,  but  it  won't  take  us 
long  to  get  up  ag'in." 

"That's  good!"  commented  Tom.  "I'll  come 
down  and  have  a  look  at  you." 

It  was  no  easy  matter,  with  the  tank  capsized, 
to  get  to  the  main  engine  room,  but  Tom  Swift 
managed  it.  To  his  delight,  aside  from  a  small 
break  in  one  of  the  minor  machines,  which  would 
not  interfere  with  the  operation  or  motive  force 
of  the  monster  war  engine,  everything  was  in 
good  shape.  There  was  no  leak  from  the  gaso 
lene  tanks,  which  was  one  of  the  contingencies 
Tom  feared,  and,  as  he  had  said,  the  motors 
would  work  upside  down  as  well  as  right  side  up, 
a  fact  he  had  proved  more  than  once  in  his  Hawk. 

"Well,  we'll  make  a  start,"  he  told  his  chief 
engineer.  "Stand  by  when  I  give  the  signal,  and 
we'll  try  to  crawl  out  of  this  right  side  up." 

"How  are  you  going  to  do  it?"  asked  Ned,  as 
his  chum  crawled  back  into  the  observation  tower. 

"Well,  I'm  going  to  run  her  part  way  up  the 
very  steepest  part  of  the  ravine  I  can  find — the 


118        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

side  of  a  house  would  do  as  well  if  it  could 
stand  the  strain.  I'm  going  to  stand  the  tank 
right  up  on  her  nose,  so  to  speak,  and  tip  her 
over  so  she'll  come  right  again." 

Slowly  the  tank  started  off,  while  Tom  and 
his  friends  in  the  observation  tower  anxiously 
awaited  the  result  of  the  novel  progress.  Ned 
and  Mr.  Damon  clung  to  the  safety  rings.  Tom 
put  his  arm  through  one  and  hung  on  grimly, 
while  he  used  both  hands  on  the  steering  ap 
paratus  and  the  controls. 

Of  course  the  trailer  wheels  were  useless  in  a 
case  of  this  kind,  and  the  tank  had  to  be  guided 
by  the  two  belts  run  at  varying  speeds. 

"Here  we  go!"  cried  Tom,  and  the  tank 
started.  It  was  a  queer  sensation  to  be  moving 
upside  down,  but  it  did  not  last  very  long.  Tom 
steered  the  tank  straight  at  the  opposite  wall  of 
the  ravine,  where  it  rose  steeply.  One  of  the 
broad  belts  ran  up  on  that  side.  The  other  was 
revolved  in  the  opposite  direction.  Up  and  up,  at 
a  sickening  angle,  went  Tank  A. 

Slowly  the  tank  careened,  turning  completely 
over  on  her  longer  axis,  until,  as  Tom  shut  off 
the  power,  he  and  his  friends  once  more  found 
themselves  standing  where  they  belonged — on  the 
floor  of  the  observation  tower. 

"Right  side  up  with  care!"  quoted  Ned,  with 


THE  RUINED  FACTORY  119 

a  laugh.  "Well,  that  was  some  stunt — believe 
me!" 

"Bless  my  corn  plaster,  I  should  say  so!"  cried 
Mr.  Damon. 

"Well,  I'm  glad  it  happened,"  commented  Tom. 
"It  showed  what  she  can  do  when  she's  put  to  it. 
Now  we'll  get  out  of  this  ditch." 

Slowly  the  tank  lumbered  along,  proper  side 
tip  now,  the  men  in  the  motor  room  reporting 
that  everything  was  all  right,  and  that  with  the 
exception  of  a  slight  unimportant  break,  no  dam 
age  had  been  done. 

Straight  for  the  opposite  steep  side  of  the  gully 
•Tom  directed  his  strange  craft,,  and  at  a  point 
where  the  wall  of  the  gulch  gave  a  good  footing 
for  the  steel  belts,  Tank  A  pulled  herself  out  and 
up  to  level  ground. 

"Well,  I'm  glad  that's  over,"  remarked  Ned, 
with  a  sigh  of  relief,  as  the  tank  waddled  along 
a  straight  stretch.  "And  to  think  of  having  to 
do  that  same  thing  under  heavy  fire!" 

"That's  part  of  the  game,"  remarked  Tom. 
"And  don't  forget  that  we  can  fire,  too — or  we'll 
13e  able  to  when  I  get  the  guns  in  place.  They'll 
help  to  balance  the  machine  better,  too,  and  ren 
der  her  less  likely  to  overturn. " 

Tom  considered  the  test  a  satisfactory  one  and, 
a  little  later,  guided  his  tank  back  to  the  shop, 


120       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

where  men  were  set  to  work  repairing  the  little 
damage  done  and  making  some  adjustments. 

"What's  next  on  the  program?"  asked  Ned  of 
his  chum  one  day  about  a  week  later.  "Any  more 
tests  in  view?" 

"Yes,"  answered  Tom.  "I've  got  the  machine 
guns  in  place  now.  We  are  going  to  try  them 
out  and  also  endeavor  to  demolish  a  building  and 
some  barbed  wire.  Like  to  come  along?" 

"I  would!"  cried  Ned. 

A  little  later  the  tank  was  making  her  way  over 
a  field.  Tom  pointed  toward  a  deserted  factory, 
which  had  long  been  partly  in  ruins,  but  some  of 
the  walls  of  which  still  stood. 

"I'm  going  to  bombard  that,"  he  announced, 
"and  then  try  to  batter  it  down  and  roll  over  it 
like  a  Juggernaut.  Are  you  game  ?" 

"Do  your  worst!"  laughed  Ned.  "Let  me  man 
one  of  the  machine  guns!" 

"All  right,"  agreed  Tom.  "Concentrate  your 
fire.  Make  believe  you're  going  against  the  Ger 
mans!" 

Slowly,  but  with  resistless  energy,  the  tank  ap 
proached  the  ruined  factory. 

"Are  you  sure  there's  no  one  in  it,  Tom?" 

"  Sure !    Blaze  away ! " 


CHAPTER   XV 

ACROSS    COUNTRY 

NEWTON  sighted  his  machine  gun.  Tom 
fcad  showed  him  how  to  work  it,  and  indeed  the 
young  bank  clerk  had  had  some  practice  with  a 
weapon  like  this,  erected  on  a  stationary  tripod. 
But  this  was  the  first  time  Ned  had  attempted  to 
fire  from  the  tank  while  it  was  moving,  and  he 
found  it  an  altogether  different  matter. 

"Say,  it  sure  is  hard  to  aim  where  you  want 
tcv! "  he  shouted  across  to  Tom,  it  being  necessary, 
•even  in  the  conning  tower,  where  this  one  gun 
was  mounted,  to  speak  loudly  to  make  one's  self 
heard  above  the  hum,  the  roar  and  rattle  of  the 
machinery  in  the  interior  of  Tank  A,  and  below 
and  to  the  rear  of  the  two  young  men. 

"Well,  that's  part  of  the  game,"  Tom  an 
swered.  "I'm  sending  her  along  over  as  smooth 
ground  as  I  can  pick  out,  but  it's  rough  at  best. 
Still  this  is  nothing  to  what  you'll  get  in  Flan 
ders." 

"If  I  get  there!"  exclaimed  Ned  grimly. 
121 


122        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

"Well,  here  goes !"  and  once  more  he  tried  to  aim 
the  machine  gun  at  the  middle  of  the  brick  wall 
of  the  ruined  factory. 

A  moment  later  there  was  a  rattle  and  a  roar 
as  the  quick-firing  mechanism  started,  and  a  ver 
itable  hail  of  bullets  swept  out  at  the  masonry. 
Tom  and  Ned  could  see  where  they  struck,  knock 
ing  off  bits  of  stone,  brick  and  cement. 

"Sweep  it,  Ned !  Sweep  it !"  cried  Tom.  "Im 
agine  a  crowd  of  Germans  are  charging  out  at 
.you,  and  sweep  'em  out  of  the  way ! " 

Obeying  this  command,  the  young  man  moved 
the  barrel  of  the  machine  gun  from  side  to  side 
and  slightly  up  and  down.  The  effect  was  at 
once  apparent.  The  wall  showed  spatter-marks 
of  the  bullets  over  a  wider  area,  and  had  a  body 
of  Teutons  been  before  the  factory,  or  even  in 
side  it,  many  of  them  would  have  been  accounted 
for,  since  there  were  several  holes  in  the  wall 
through  which  Ned's  bullets  sped,  carrying  po 
tential  death  with  them. 

"That's  better !"  shouted  Tom.  "That'll  do  the 
business!  Now  I'm  going  to  open  her  up,  Ned!" 

"Open  her  up?"  cried  the  young  bank  clerk,  as 
he  ceased  firing. 

"Yes;  crack  the  wall  of  that  factory  as  I  would 
a  nut!  Watch  me  take  it  on  high — that  is,  if  the 
old  tank  doesn't  go  back  on  me!" 


ACROSS  COUNTRY  123 

"You  mean  you're  going  to  ride  right  over  that 
building,  Tom?" 

"I  mean  I'm  going  to  try!  If  Tank  A  does  as 
I  expect  her  to,  she'll  butt  into  that  wall,  crush  it 
down  by  force  and  weight,  and  then  waddle  over 
the  ruins.  Watch!" 

Tom  sent  some  signals  to  the  motor  room.  At 
once  there  was  noticed  an  increase  in  the  vibra 
tions  of  the  ponderous  machine. 

"They're  giving  her  more  speed,"  said  Tom. 
"And  I  guess  we'll  need  it." 

Straight  for  the  old  factory  went  Tank  A.  In 
spite  of  its  ruined  condition,  some  of  the  walls 
were  still  firm,  and  seemed  to  offer  a  big  obstacle 
to  even  so  powerful  an  engine  of  war  as  this 
monstrous  tank. 

"Get  ready  now,  Ned,"  Tom  advised.  "And 
when  I  crack  her  open  for  you  cut  loose  with  the 
machine  gun  again.  This  gun  is  supposed  to  fire 
straight  ahead  and  a  little  to  either  side.  There 
are  other  guns  at  left  and  right,  amidships,  as  I 
might  say,  and  there's  also  one  in  the  stern,  to 
take  care  of  any  attack  from  that  direction. 

"The  men  in  charge  of  them  will  fire  at  the 
same  time  you  do,  and  it  will  be  as  near  like  a 
real  attack  as  we  can  make  it — with  the  excep 
tion  of  not  being  fired  back  at.  And  I  wouldn't 
mind  if  such  were  the  case,  for  I  don't  believe 


124       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

anything,  outside  of  heavy  artillery,  will  have 
any  effect  on  this  tank." 

Tank  A  was  now  almost  at  her  maximum  speed 
as  she  approached  closer  to  the  deserted  factory. 
Ned  and  Tom,  in  the  conning  tower,  saw  the 
largest  of  the  remaining  walls  looming  before 
them.  Straight  at  it  rushed  the  ponderous  ma 
chine,  and  the  next  moment  there  came  a  shock 
which  almost  threw  Ned  away  from  his  gun  and 
back  against  the  steel  wall  behind  him. 

"Hold  fast!  "cried  Tom.  "Here  we  go!  Fire, 
Ned!  Fire!" 

There  was  a  crash  as  the  blunt  nose  of  tha 
great  war  tank  hit  the  wall  and  crumpled  it  up. 

A  great  hole  was  made  in  the  masonry,  and 
what  was  not  crushed  under  the  caterpillar  belts 
of  the  tank  fell  in  a  shower  of  bricks,  stone  and 
cement  on  top  of  the  machine. 

Like  a  great  hail  storm  the  broken  masonry 
pelted  the  steel  sides  and  top  of  the  tank.  But 
she  felt  them  no  more  than  does  an  alligator  the 
attacks  of  a  colony  of  ants.  Right  on  through 
the  dust  the  tank  crushed  her  way.  Added  to  the 
noise  of  the  falling  walls  was  that  of  the  machine 
guns,  which  were  barking  away  like  a  kennel  of 
angry  hounds  eager  to  be  unleashed  at  the  quarry. 

Ned  kept  his  gun  going  until  the  heat  of  it 
warned  him  to  stop  and  let  the  barrel  cool,  or  he 


ACROSS  COUNTRY  12S 

knew  he  would  jam  some  of  the  mechanism.  The 
other  guns  were  tiring,  too,  and  the  bullets  sent 
up  little  spatter  points  of  dust  as  they  hit. 

"Great  jumping  hoptoads!"  yelled  Ned  above ( 
the  riot  of  racket  outside  and  inside.    "Feel  her 
go,  Tom!" 

"Yes,  she's  just  chewing  it  up,  all  right!" 
cried  the  young  inventor,  his  eyes  shining  with 
delight. 

The  tank  had  actually  burst  her  way  through 
the  solid  wall  of  the  old  factory,  permission  to 
complete  the  demolition  of  which  Tom  had  se 
cured  from  the  owners.  Then  the  great  machine 
kept  right  on.  She  fairly  "walked"  over  the  piles 
of  masonry,  dipped  down  into  what  had  been  a 
basement,  now  partly  filled  with  debris,  and  kept 
on  toward  another  wall. 

"I'm  going  through  that,  too!"  cried  Tom. 

And  he  did,  knocking  it  down  and  sending  his 
tank  over  the  piled-up  ruins,  while  the  machine 
guns  barked,  coughed  and  spluttered,  as  Ned  and 
the  others  inside  the  tank  held  back  the  firing 
levers. 

Right  through  the  opposite  wall,  as  through  the 
one  she  had  already  demolished,  the  tank  ca 
reened  on  her  way,  to  emerge,  rather  battered 
and  dust-covered,  on  the  other  side  of  what  was 
left  of  the  factory.  And  there  was  not  much  of 


126       TOM  SWIFT  'AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

it  left.  Tank  A  had  well-nigh  completed  its  dem 
olition. 

"If  there'd  been  a  nest  of  Germans  in  there," 
said  Tom,  as  he  brought  the  machine  to  a  stop  in 
a  field  beyond  the  factory,  "they'd  have  gotten 
out  in  a  hurry." 

"Or  taken  the  consequences,"  added  Ned,  as  he 
;wiped  the  sweat  from  his  powder-blackened  and 
oil-smeared  face.  "I  certainly  kept  my  gun 
going." 

"Yes,  and  so  did  the  others,"  reported  one  of 
the  mechanics,  as  he  emerged  from  the  "cubby 
hole,"  where  the  great  motors  had  now  ceased 
their  hum  and  roar. 

"How'd  she  stand  it?"  asked  Tom. 

"All  right  inside,"  answered  the  man.  "I  was 
iwondering  how  she  looks  from  the  outside." 

"Oh,  it  would  take  more  than  that  to  damage 
her,"  said  Tom,  with  pardonable  pride.  "That 
was  pie  for  her!  Solid  concrete,  which  she  may 
have  to  chew  up  on  the  Western  front,  may  pre 
sent  another  kind  of  problem,  but  I  guess  she'll 
be  able  to  master  that  too.  Well,  let's  have  a 
look." 

He  and  Ned,  with  some  of  the  crew  and  gun 
ners,  went  outside  the  tank.  She  was  a  sorry- 
looking  sight,  very  different  from  the  trim  ap 
pearance  she  had  presented  when  she  first  left 


ACROSS  COUNTRY  127 

the  shop.  Bricks,  bits  of  stone,  and  piles  of  bro 
ken  cement  in  chunks  and  dust  lay  thick  on  her 
broad  back.  But  no  real  damage  had  been  done, 
as  a  hasty  examination  showed. 

"Well,  are  you  satisfied,  Tom?"  asked  his 
chum. 

"Yes,  and  more,"  was  the  answer.  "Of  course 
this  wasn't  the  hardest  test  to  which  she  could 
have  been  submitted,  but  it  will  do  to  show  what 
punishment  she  can  stand.  Being  shot  at  from 
big  guns  is  another  matter.  I'll  have  to  wait  until 
she  gets  to  Flanders  to  see  what  effect  that  will 
have.  But  I  know  the  kind  of  armor  skin  she 
has,  and  that  doesn't  worry  me.  There's  one 
thing  more  I  want  to  do  while  I  have  her  out 
now. " 

"What's  that?"  asked  Ned. 

"Take  her  for  a  long  trip  cross  country,  and 
then  shove  her  through  some  extra  heavy  barbed 
wire.  I'm  certain  she'll  chew  that  up,  but  I  want 
to  see  it  actually  done.  So  now,  if  you  want  to 
come  along,  Ned,  we'll  go  cross  country." 

"I'm  with  you!" 

"Get  inside  then.  We'll  let  the  dust  and  ma 
sonry  blow  and  rattle  off  as  we  go  along. " 

The  tank  started  off  across  the  fields,  whicK 
stretched  for  many  miles  on  either  side  of  the 
deserted  factory,  when  suddenly  Ned,  who  was 


128       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

again  at  his  post  in  the  observation  tower,  called : 

"Look,  Tom!" 

"What  at?" 

"That  corner  of  the  factory  which  is  still 
standing.  Look  at  those  men  coming  out  and 
running  away!" 

Ned  pointed,  and  his  chum,  leaning  over  from 
the  steering  wheel  and  controls,  gave  a  start  of 
surprise  as  he  saw  three  figures  clambering  down 
over  the  broken  debris  and  making  their  way  out 
of  what  had  once  been  a  doorway. 

"Did  they  come  out  of  the  factory,  Ned?" 

"They  surely  did !  And  unless  I  miss  my  guess 
they  were  in  it,  or  around  it,  when  we  went 
through  like  a  fellow  carrying  the  football  over 
the  line  for  a  touchdown." 

"In  there  when  the  tank  broke  open  things?" 

"I  think  so.  I  didn't  see  them  before,  but  they 
certainly  ran  out  as  we  started  away." 

"This  has  got  to  be.  looked  into !"  decided  Tom. 
"Come  on,  Ned!  It  may  be  more  of  that  spy 
business!" 

Tom  Swift  stopped  the  tank:  and  prepared  to 
get  out 


CHAPTER   XVI 

THE   OLD   BARN 

"THERE'S  no  use  chasing  after  'em,  Tom,"  ob 
served  Ned,  as  the  two  chums  stood  side  by  side 
outside  the  tank  and  gazed  after  the  three  men 
running  off  across  the  fields  as  fast  as  they  could 
go.  "They've  got  too  much  a  start  of  us." 

"I  guess  you're  right,  Ned,"  agreed  Tom. 
"And  we  can't  very  well  pursue  them  in  the  tank. 
She  goes  a  bit  faster  than  anything  of  her  build, 
but  a  running  man  is  more  than  a  match  for  her 
in  a  short  distance.  If  I  had  the  Hawk  here, 
there'd  be  a  different  story  to  tell." 

"Well,  seeing  that  you  haven't,"  replied  Ned, 
"suppose  we  let  them  go — which  we'll  have  to, 
whether  we  want  to  or  not — and  see  where  they 
were  hiding  and  if  they  left  any  traces  behind." 

"That's  a  good  idea,"  returned  Tom. 

The  place  whence  the  men  had  emerged  was  a 
portion  of  the  old  factory  farthest  removed  from 
the  walls  the  tank  had  crunched  its  way  through. 
Consequently,  that  part  was  the  least  damaged. 
129 


130       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

Tom  and  Ned  came  to  what  seemed  to  havel 
been  the  office  of  the  building  when  the  factory 
was  in  operation.  A  door,  from  which  most  of 
the  glass  had  been  broken,  hung  on  one  hinge, 
and,  pushing  this  open,  the  two  chums  found 
themselves  in  a  room  that  bore  evidences  of  hav 
ing  been  the  bookkeeper's  department.  There 
were  the  remains  of  cabinet  files,  and  a  broken 
letter  press,  while  in  one  corner  stood  a  safe. 

"Maybe  they  were  cracking  that,"  said  Ned. 

"They  were  wasting  their  time  if  they  were," 
observed  Tom,  "for  the  combination  is  broken — < 
any  one  can  open  it,"  and  he  demonstrated  this 
by  swinging  back  one  of  the  heavy  doors. 

A  quantity  of  papers  fell  out,  or  what  had  been 
papers,  for  they  were  now  torn  and  the  edges 
charred,  as  if  by  some  recent  fire. 

"They  were  burning  these!"  cried  Ned.  "You 
can  smell  the  smoke  yet.  They  came  here  to  de 
stroy  some  papers,  and  we  surprised  them!" 

"I  believe  you're  right,"  agreed  Tom.  "The 
ashes  are  still  warm."  And  he  tested  them  with 
his  hand.  "They  wanted  to  destroy  something, 
and  when  they  found  we  were  here  they  clapped 
the  blazing  stuff  into  the  safe,  thinking  it  would 
burn  there. 

"But  the  closing  of  the  doors  cut  off  the  sup 
ply  of  air  and  the  fire  smouldered  and  went  out. 


THE  OLD  BARN 

It  burned  enough  so  that  it  didn't  leave  us  very 
much  in  the  way  of  evidence,  though,"  went  on 
Tom  ruefully,  as  he  poked  among  the  charred 
scraps. 

"Maybe  you  can  read  some  of  'em,"  suggested 
Ned. 

"Part  of  the  writing  is  in  German,"  Tom  said, 
as  he  looked  over  the  mass.  "I  don't  believe  it 
would  be  worth  while  to  try  it  Still,  I  can  save 
it.  Here,  I'll  sweep  the  stuff  into  a  box,  and  if 
we  get  a  chance  we  can  try  to  patch  it  together," 
and  finding  a  broken  box  in  what  had  been  the 
factory  office  the  young  inventor  managed  to  get 
into  it  the  charred  remains  of  the  papers. 

A  further  search  failed  to  reveal  anything  that 
would  be  useful  in  the  way  of  evidence  to  deter 
mine  what  object  the  three  men  could  have  had 
in  hiding  in  the  ruins,  and  Tom  and  Ned  re 
turned  to  the  tank. 

"What  do  you  think  about  them,  Tom?"  asked 
Ned,  as  they  were  about  to  start  off  once  more 
for  the  cross-country  test. 

"Well,  it  seems  like  a  silly  thing  to  say — as  if  I 
imagined  my  tank  was  all  there  was  in  this  part 
of  the  country  to  make  trouble — but  I  believe 
those  men  had  some  connection  with  Simpson  and 
jvith  that  spy  Schwen!" 

"I  agree  with  you!"  exclaimed  Ned.    "And  I 


132       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

think  if  we  could  get  head  or  tail  of  those  burned 
papers  we'd  find  that  there  was  some  correspond 
ence  there  between  the  man  I  saw  up  the  tree 
and  the  workman  you  had  arrested." 

"Too  bad  we  weren't  a  bit  quicker,"  comment 
ed  Tom.  "They  must  have  been  in  the  factory 
when  we  charged  it — probably  came  there  to 
be  in  seclusion  while  they  talked,  plotted  and 
planned.  They  must  have  been  afraid  to  go  out 
yrhen  the  tank  was  walking  through  the  walls." 

"I  guess  that's  it,"  agreed  Ned.  "Did  you 
recognize  any  of  the  men,  Tom?" 

"No,  I  didn't  see  'em  as  soon  as  you  did,  and 
when  they  were  running  they  had  their  backs 
toward  me.  Was  Simpson  one  ?" 

"I  can't  be  sure.  If  one  was,  I  guess  he'll 
think  we  are  keeping  pretty  closely  after  him,  and 
he  may  give  this  part  of  the  country  a  wide 
berth." 

"I  hope  he  does,"  returned  Tom.  "Do  you 
know,  Ned,  I  have  an  idea  that  these  fellows — • 
Schwen,  Simpson,  and  those  back  of  them,  in 
cluding  Blakeson — are  trying  to  get  hold  of  the 
secret  of  my  tank  for  the  Germans." 

"I  shouldn't  be  surprised.  But  you've  got  it 
finished  now,  haven't  you?  They  can't  get  your 
patents  away  from  you." 

"No,  it  isn't  that,"  said  Tom.    "There  are  cer- 


THE  OLD  BARN  133- 

tain  secrets  about  the  mechanism  of  the  tank — the 
>vay  I've  increased  the  speed  and  power,  the  use 
of  the  spanners,  and  things  like  that — which 
would  be  useful  for  the  Germans  to  know.  I 
wouldn't  want  them  to  find  out  these  secrets,  and 
they  could  do  that  if  they  were  in  the  tank  a 
while,  or  had  her  in  their  possession." 

"They  couldn't  do  that,  Tom — get  possession 
of  her — could  they?" 

"There's  no  telling.  I'm  going  to  be  doubly  on 
the  watch.  That  fellow  Blakeson  is  in  the  pay  of 
the  plotters,  I  believe.  He  has  a  big  machine 
shop,  and  he  might  try  to  duplicate  my  tank  if 
he  knew  how  she  was  made  inside." 

"I  see!  That's  why  he  was  inquiring  about  a 
good  machinist,  I  suppose,  though  he'll  be  might 
ily  surprised  when  he  learns  it  was  you  he  was 
talking  to  the  time  your  Hawk  met  with  the  little 
mishap." 

"Yes,  I  guess  maybe  he  will  be  a  bit  startled,'* 
agreed  Tom.  "But  I  haven't  seen  him  around 
lately,  and  maybe  he  has  given  up." 

"Don't  trust  to  that!"  warned  Ned. 

The  tank  was  now  progressing  easily  along 
over  fields,  hesitating  not  at  small  or  big  ditches, 
now  going  uphill  and  now  down,  across  a  stretch 
of  country  thinly  settled,  where  even  fences  were 
a  rarity.  When  they  came  to  wooden  ones  Tom 


134       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

had  the  workmen  get  out  and  take  down  the  bars. 
Of  course  the  tank  could  have  crushed  them  like 
toothpicks,  but  Tom  was  mindful  of  the  rights 
of  farmers,  and  a  broken  fence  might  mean 
strayed  cows,  or  the  letting  of  cattle  into  a  field 
of  grain  or  corn,  to  the  damage  of  both  cattle 
and  fodder. 

"There's  a  barbed-wire  fence,"  observed  Ned, 
as  he  pointed  to  one  off  some  distance  across  the 
field.  "Why  don't  you  try  demolishing  that?" 

"Oh,  it  would  be  too  easy!  Besides,  I  don't 
want  the  bother  of  putting  it  up  again.  When  I 
make  the  barbed-wire  test  I  want  some  set  up  on 
heavy  posts,  and  with  many  strands,  as  it  is  in 
Flanders.  Even  that  won't  stop  the  tank,  but  I'm 
anxious  to  see  how  she  breaks  up  the  wire  and 
supports — just  what  sort  of  a  breach  she  makes. 
But  I  have  a  different  plan  in  mind  now. 

"I'm  going  to  try  to  find  a  wooden  building 
we  can  charge  as  we  did  the  masonry  factory.  I 
want  to  smash  up  a  barn,  and  I'll  have  to  pick 
out  an  old  one  for  choice,  for  in  these  war  days 
we  must  conserve  all  we  can,  even  old  barns." 

"What's  the  idea  of  using  a  barn,  Tom?" 

"Well,  I  want  to  test  the  tank  under  all  sorts 
of  conditions — the  same  conditions  she'll  meet 
with  on  the  Western  front.  We've  proved  that 
a  brick  and  stone  factory  is  no  obstacle." 


THE  OLD  BARN  135 

"Then  how  could  a  flimsy  wooden  barn  be?" 

"Well,  that's  just  it  I  don't  think  that  it  will, 
but  it  may  be  that  a  barn  when  smashed  will  get 
tangled  up  in  the  endless  steel  belts,  and  clog 
them  so  they'll  jam.  That's  the  reason  I  want  to 
try  a  wooden  structure  next.'* 

"Do  you  know  where  to  find  one?" 

"Yes;  about  a  mile  from  here  is  one  I've  had 
my  eyes  on  ever  since  I  began  constructing  the 
tank.  I  don't  know  who  owns  it,  but  it's  such  a 
ramshackle  affair  that  he  can't  object  to  having 
it  knocked  into  kindling  wood  for  him.  If  he 
does  holler,  I  can  pay  him  for  the  damage  done. 
So  now  for  a  barn,  Ned,  unless  you're  getting 
tired  and  want  to  go  back?" 

"I  should  say  not!  Speaking  of  barns,  I'm 
with  you  till  the  cows  come  home!  Want  any 
more  machine  gun  work?" 

"No,  I  guess  not.  This  barn  isn't  particularly 
isolated,  and  the  shooting  might  scare  horses  and 
cattle.  We  can  smash  things  up  without  the 
guns. " 

The  tank  was  going  on  smoothly  when  sud 
denly  there  was  a  lurch  to  one  side,  and  the  great 
machine  quickly  swung  about  in  a  circle. 

"Hello!  "cried  Ned.  "What's  up  now?  Some 
new  stunt?" 

"Must  be  something  wrong,"  answered  the 


136       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

young  inventor.  "One  of  the  belts  has  stopped 
working.  That's  why  we're  going  in  a  circle." 

He  shut  off  the  power  and  hastened  down  to 
the  motor  room.  There  he  found  his  men  gath 
ered  about  one  of  the  machines. 

"What's  wrong?"  asked  Tom  quickly. 

"Just  a  little  accident,"  replied  the  head  ma 
chinist.  "One  of  the  boys  dropped  his  monkey 
wrench  and  it  smashed  some  spark  plugs.  That 
caused  a  short  circuit  and  the  left-hand  motor 
went  out  of  business.  We'll  have  her  fixed  in  a 
jiffy." 

Tom  looked  relieved,  and  the  machinist  was  as 
good  as  his  word.  In  a  few  minutes  the  tank 
was  moving  forward  again.  It  crossed  out  to 
the  road,  to  the  great  astonishment  of  some  farm 
ers,  and  the  fright  of  their  horses,  and  then  Tom 
once  more  swung  her  into  the  fields. 

"There's  the  old  barn  I  spoke  of,"  he  remarked 
to  Ned.  "It's  almost  as  bad  a  ruin  as  the  factory 
was.  But  we'll  have  a  go  at  it.  * 

"Going  to  smash  it?"  asked  Ned. 

"I'm  going  right  through  it!"  Tom  cried. 


CHAPTER   XVII 

VEILED   THREATS 

LIKE  some  prehistoric  monster  about  to  charge 
down  upon  another  of  its  kind,  Tank  A,  under 
the  guidance  of  Tom  Swift,  reeled  and  bumped 
her  way  over  the  uneven  fields  toward  the  old 
barn.  Within  the  monster  of  steel  and  iron  were 
raucous  noises :  the  clang  and  clatter  of  the  pow 
erful  gasolene  motors;  the  rattle  of  the  wheels 
and  gears;  all  making  so  much  noise  that,  in  the 
engine  room  proper,  not  a  word  could  be  heard. 
Every  order  had  to  be  given  by  signs,  and  Tom 
sent  his  electric  signals  from  the  conning  tower 
in  the  same  way.  When  running  at  full  speed,  it 
was  almost  impossible,  even  in  the  tower,  which 
was  some  distance  removed  from  the  engine 
room,  to  hear  voices  unless  the  words  were 
,  shouted. 

"Why  don't  you  go  at  it?"  cried  Ned  to  his 
friend,  who  was  peering  through  the  observation 
slot  in  the  tower. 

"I'm  getting  in  good  position,"  Tom  answered. 
137 


138       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

"Or  rather,  the  worst  position  I  can  find.  I  want 
to  give  the  tank  a  good  try-out,  and  I'm  going  at 
the  barn  on  the  assumption  that  this  is  in  enemy 
country  and  that  I  can't  pick  and  choose  my 
advance. 

"So  I  want  to  come  up  through  that  gully,  and 
go  at  the  barn  from  the  long  way.  That  will  be 
the  worst  possible  way  I  could  do  it,  and  if  old 
Tank  A  stands  the  gaff  I'll  know  she's  a  little 
bit  nearer  all  right." 

"I  think  she's  all  right  as  she  is!"  asserted  Ned! 
in  a  yell,  for  just  then  Tom  signaled  for  more 
speed,  and  the  consequent  increase  in  the  rattling 
and  banging  noises  made  it  correspondingly  dif 
ficult  for  talk  to  be  heard. 

,The  big  machine  now  tipped  into  the  little  gully 
spoken  of  by  Tom.  This  meant  a  dip  downward, 
and  then  a  climb  out  again  and  an  attack  on  the 
barn  going  uphill  and  at  an  angle.  But,  as  the 
young  inventor  had  said,  it  would  make  a  severe 
test  and  that  was  what  he  wanted  to  give  his 
ponderous  machine. 

Ned  grasped  one  of  the  safety  rings,  as,  with 
a  reel  to  one  side,  almost  as  if  it  were  going  to 
capsize,  the  tank  rumbled  on.  Tom  cast  a  half- 
amused  smile  at  his  chum,  and  then  threw  over 
the  guiding  lever. 

The  tank  rolled  down  into  the  gully.    It  was 


VEILED  THREATS  139 

rough  and  filled  with  stones  and  boulders,  some 
of  considerable  size.  But  Tank  A  made  less  than 
nothing  even  of  the  largest  rocks.  Some  she 
crushed  beneath  her  steel  belts.  Others  she 
simply  "walked"  over,  smashing  them  down  into 
the  soil. 

Now  the  big  machine  reached  the  bottom  of 
the  gulch  and  started  up  the  sides,  which,  though 
not  as  steep  as  the  trench  in  which  she  had  cap 
sized,  still  were  not  easy  going. 

"Now  for  it!"  cried  Tom,  as  he  signaled  for 
full  speed. 

Up  climbed  the  tank.  Now  she  was  half-way. 
A  moment  later,  and  she  was  at  the  top,  and  then 
a  forward  careening  motion  told  that  she  had 
passed  over  the  summit  and  was  ready  for  the 
attack  proper. 

Ned  gave  a  quick  glance  through  the  slot  near 
est  him.  He  had  a  glimpse  of  the  barn,  and  then 
he  saw  something  else.  This  was  the  sight  of  a 
man  running  away  from  the  dilapidated  structure 
* — a  man  who  glanced  toward  the  tank  with  a  face 
that  showed  great  fright. 

"Stop!  Stop!"  yelled  Ned.  "There  may  be 
'folks  in  there,  Tom!  I  just  saw  a  man  run  out!" 

"All  right!"  Tom  cried,  though  Ned  could 
hardly  hear  him.  "Tell  me  when  we  get  on  the 
other  side!  We're  going  through  now!" 


140       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

"But,"  shouted  Ned,  "don't  you  understand? 
I  saw  a  man  come  out  of  there!  Maybe  there's 
more  inside!  Wait,  Tom,  and " 

But  it  was  too  late.  The  next  instant  there 
was  a  smashing,  grinding,  splintering  crash,  a 
noise  as  of  a  thunder-clap,  and  Tank  A  fairly  ate 
her  way  through  the  old  barn  as  a  rat  might  eat 
his  way  into  a  soft  cheese,  only  infinitely  more 
quickly. 

On  and  on  and  through  and  through  went  the 
tank,  knocking  beams,  boards,  rafters  and  timbers 
hither  and  thither.  Minding  not  at  all  the  weight 
of  great  beams  on  her  back,  caring  nothing  for 
those  that  got  in  the  way  of  her  steel  belts,  heed 
ing  not  the  wall  of  wood  that  reared  itself  before 
her  in  a  barrier  of  splinters  and  slivers,  Tank  A 
went  on  and  on  until  finally,  with  another  grind 
ing  crash,  as  she  smashed  her  way  through  the 
farthermost  wall,  the  great  engine  of  war 
emerged  on  the  other  side  and  came  panting  into 
the  field,  dragging  with  her  a  part  of  the  struc 
ture  clinging  to  her  steel  sides. 

"Well,"  cried  Tom,  with  a  laugh,  as  he  sig 
naled  for  the  power  to  be  shut  off,  thereby 
making  it  possible  for  ordinary  conversation  to  be 
heard,  "I  guess  we  didn't  do  a  thing  to  that 
barn!" 

"'Not  much  left  of  it,  for  a  fact,  Tom,"  agreed 


VEILED  THREATS  141 

Ned,  as  he  looked  through  the  after  observation 
slots  at  the  ruin  in  the  rear.  "But  didn't  you 
hear  what  I  was  saying?" 

"I  heard  you  yelling  something  to  me,  but  I 
was  too  anxious  to  go  at  it  as  fast  as  I  could. 
I  didn't  want  to  stop  then.  What  was  the 
trouble?" 

"That's  what  I'm  afraid  of,  Tom — there  may 
be  trouble.  Just  before  you  tackled  the  barn  for 
a  knockdown,  instead  of  a  touchdown,  as  we 
might  say,  I  saw  a  man  running  out  of  it.  I 
thought  if  there  was  one  there,  perhaps  there 
might  be  more.  That's  why  I  yelled  to  you." 

"A  man  running  from  the  old  barn!"  cried 
Tom.  "Whew!"  he  whistled.  "I  wish  I  had 
seen  him.  But,  Ned,  if  one  ran  out  of  harm's 
way,  any  others  who  might  possibly  be  in  there 
would  do  the  same  thing,  wouldn't  they?" 

"I  hope  so,"  returned  Ned  doubtfully. 

"Great  Scott!"  cried  Tom,  as  the  possibility 
was  borne  home  to  him.  *  "If  anything  has  hap 
pened " 

He  sprang  for  the  door  of  the  tower  and  threw; 
over  the  catch,  springing  out,  followed  by  Ned. 
From  the  engine  room  of  the  armored  tank  the 
men  came,  smiles  of  gratification  on  their  faces. 

"We  certainly  busted  her  wide  open,  Mr. 
Swift!"  called  the  chief  mechanician. 


142       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

"Yes,"  assented  the  young  inventor;  but  there 
was  not  as  much  gratification  in  his  voice  as  there 
should  have  been.  "There  isn't  much  of  a  barn 
left,  but  Ned  thinks  he  saw  some  one  run  out, 
and  if  there  was  one  man  there  may  have  been 
more.  We'd  better  have  a  look  around,  I  guess." 

The  engineering  force  exchanged  glances. 
[Then  Hank  Baldwin,  who  was  in  charge  of  the 
motors,  said : 

"Well,  if  there  was  anybody  in  that  barn  when 
;we  chewed  her  up  I  wouldn't  give  much  for  his 
hide,  German  or  not." 

"Let  us  hope  no  one  was  in  there,"  murmured 
fTom. 

They  turned  to  go  back  to  the  demolished 
structure,  fear  and  worry  in  their  hearts.  No 
more  complete  ruin  could  be  imagined.  If  a  cy 
clone  had  swept  over  the  barn  it  could  not  have 
more  certainly  leveled  it  And,  not  only  was  it 
leveled,  crushed  down  in  the  center  by  the  great 
weight  of  the  tank,  but  the  boards  and  beams 
were  broken  into  small  pieces.  Parts  of  them 
clung  in  long,  grotesque  splinters  to  the  endless 
steel  belts. 

"I  don't  see  how  we're  going  to  find  anybody 
if  he's  in  there,"  remarked  Hank. 

"We'll  have  to,"  insisted  Tom.  "We  can  look 
about  and  call.  If  any  one  is  there  he  may  have 


VEILED  THREATS  143 

been  off  to  one  side  or  to  one  end,  and  be  pro 
tected  under  the  debris.  I  wish  I  had  heard  you 
call,  Ned." 

"I  wish  you  had,  Tom.  I  yelled  for  all  I  was 
worth." 

"I  know  you  did.  I  was  too  eager  to  go  on, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  I  really  couldn't  stop  well 
on  that  hill.  I  had  to  keep  on  going.  Well,  now 
to  learn  the  worst !" 

They  walked  back  toward  the  demolished  barn. 
But  they  had  not  reached  it  when  from  around 
the  corner  swung  a  big  automobile.  In  it  were 
several  men,  but  chief,  in  vision  at  least,  among 
them,  was  a  burly  farmer  who  had  a  long,  old- 
fashioned  gun  in  his  hands.  On  his  bearded  face 
was  a  grim  look  as  he  leaped  out  before  the  ma 
chine  had  fairly  stopped,  and  called,* 

"Hold  on,  there!  I  guess  you've  done  damage 
enough!  Now  you  can  pay  for  it  or  take  the 
consequences!"  And  he  motioned  to  Tom,  Ned, 
and  the  others  to  halt. 


CHAPTER   XVIII 

READY   FOR   FRANCE 

SUCH  was  the  reaction  following  the  crashing 
tnrough  of  the  barn,  coupled  with  the  sudden  ap 
pearance  of  the  men  in  the  automobile  and  the 
threat  of  the  farmer,  that,  for  the  moment,  Tom, 
,Ned,  or  their  companions  from  the  tank  could 
say  nothing.  They  just  stood  staring  at  the 
farmer  with  the  gun,  while  he  grimly  regarded 
them.  It  was  Tom  who  spoke  first. 

"What's  the  idea?"  asked  the  young  inventor. 
"Why  don't  you  want  us  to  look  through  the 
ruins?" 

"You'll  learn  soon  enough!"  was  the  grim  an 
swer. 

But  Tom  was  not  to  be  put  off  with  undecided 
talk. 

"If  there's  been  an  accident,"  he  said,  "we're 
sorry  for  it.  But  delay  may  be  dangerous.  If 
some  one  is  hurt " 

"You'll  be  hurt,  if  I  have  my  way  about  it!" 
snapped  the  farmer,  "and  hurt  in  a  place  wherg 
144 


READY  FOR  FRANCE  145 

it  always  tells.  I  mean  your  pocketbook !  That's 
the  kind  of  a  man  I  am — practical." 

"He  means  if  we've  killed  or  injured  any  one 
we'll  have  to  pay  damages,"  whispered  Ned  to 
Tom.  "But  don't  agree  to  anything  until  you  see 
your  lawyer.  That's  a  hot  one,  though,  trying  to 
claim  damages  before  he  knows  who's  hurt!" 

"I've  got  to  find  out  more  about  this,"  Tom 
answered.  He  started  to  walk  on. 

"No  you  don't!"  cried  the  farmer,  with  a  snarl. 
"As  I  said,  you  folks  has  done  damage  enough 
with  your  threshing  machine,  or  whatever  you 
call  it.  Now  you've  got  to  pay!" 

"We  are  willing  to,"  said  Tom,  as  courteously 
as  he  could.  "But  first  we  want  to  know  who 
has  been  hurt,  or  possibly  killed.  Don't  you 
think  it  best  to  get  them  to  a  doctor,  and  then 
talk  about  money  damages  later?" 

"Doctor?  Hurt?"  cried  the  farmer,  the  other 
men  in  the  auto  saying  nothing.  "Who  said  any 
thing  about  that?" 

"I  thought,"  began  Tom,  "that  you " 

"I'm  talkin'  about  damages  to  my  barn!"  cried 
the  farmer.  "You  had  no  right  to  go  smashing 
it  up  this  way,  and  you've  got  to  pay  for  it,  or  my 
name  ain't  Amos  Kanker!" 

"Oh!"  and  there  was  great  relief  in  Tom's 
voice.  "Then  we  haven't  killed  any  one?" 


146       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

"I  don't  know  what  you've  done,"  answered 
the  farmer,  and  his  voice  was  not  a  pleasant  one. 
"I'm  sure  I  can't  keep  track  of  all  your  ructions. 
All  I  know  is  that  you've  ruined  my  barn,  and 
you've  got  to  pay  for  it,  and  pay  good,  too!" 

"For  that  old  ramshackle?"  cried  Ned. 

"Hush!"  begged  Tom,  in  a  low  voice.  "I'm 
willing  to  pay,  Ned,  for  the  sake  of  having 
proved  what  my  tank  could  do.  I'm  only  too 
glad  to  learn  no  one  was  hurt.  Was  there?"  he 
asked,  turning  to  the  farmer. 

"Was  there  what?" 

"Was  there  anybody  in  your  barn?" 

"Not  as  I  knows  on,"  was  the  grouchy  answer. 
"A  man  who  saw  your  machine  coming  thought 
ishe  was  headed  for  my  building,  and  he  run  and 
told  me.  Then  some  friends  of  mine  brought  me 
here  in  their  machine.  I  tell  you  I've  got  all  the 
evidence  I  need  ag'in  you,  an'  I'm  going  to  have 
damages!  That  barn  w.as  worth  three  thousand 
•dollars  if  it  was  worth  a  cent,  and " 

"This  matter  can  easily  be  settled,"  said  Tom, 
trying  to  keep  his  temper.  "My  name  is  Swift, 
and " 

"Don't  get  swift  with  me,  that's  all  I  ask!" 
and  the  farmer  laughed  grimly  at  his  clumsy 
joke. 

"I'll  do  whatever  is  right,"  Tom  said,  with 


READY  FOR  FRANCE 

dignity.  "I  live  over  near  Shopton,  and  if 
you  want  to  send  your  lawyer  to  see  mine, 
why " 

"I  don't  believe  in  lawyers!"  broke  in  the 
farmer.  "All  they  think  of  is  to  get  what  they 
can  for  theirselves.  And  I  can  do  that  myself. 
I'll  get  it  out  of  you  before  you  leave,  or,  any 
how,  before  you  take  your  contraption  away," 
and  he  glanced  at  the  tank. 

The  same  suspicion  came  at  once  to  Tom  and 
Ned,  and  the  latter  gave  voice  to  it  when  he  mur 
mured  in  a  low  voice  to  his  chum: 

"This  is  a  frame-up — a  scheme,  Tom.  He 
doesn't  care  a  rap  for  the  barn.  It's  some  of  that 
Blakeson's  doing,  to  make  trouble  for  you." 

"I  believe  you!"  agreed  Tom.  "Now  I  know 
what  to  do." 

He  looked  toward  the  collapsed  barn,  as  if 
making  a  mental  computation  of  its  value,  and 
then  turned  toward  the  farmer. 

"I'm  very  sorry,"  said  Tom,  "if  I  have  caused 
any  trouble.  I  wanted  to  test  my  machine  out 
on  a  wooden  structure,  and  I  picked  your  barn. 
I  suppose  I  should  have  come  to  you  first,  but  I 
did  not  want  to  waste  time.  I  saw  the  barn  was 
of  practically  no  value " 

"No  value!"  broke  in  the  farmer.  "Well,  I'll 
show  you,  young  man,  that  you  can't  play  fast 


148       TOM  SWIFT  'AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

and  loose  with  other  people's  property  and  not 
settle!" 

"I'm  perfectly  willing  to,  Mr.  Kanker.  I 
could  see  that  the  barn  was  almost  ready  to  fall, 
and  I  had  already  determined,  before  sending  my 
tank  through  it,  to  pay  the  owner  any  reasonable 
sum.  I  am  willing  to  do  that  now." 

"Well,  of  course  if  you're  so  ready  to  do  that," 
replied  the  farmer,  and  Ned  thought  he  caught  a 
glance  pass  between  him  and  one  of  the  men  in 
the  auto,  "if  you're  ready  to  do  that,  just  hand 
over  three  thousand  dollars,  and  we'll  call  it  a 
day's  work.  It's  really  worth  more,  but  I'll  say 
three  thousand  for  a  quick  settlement. " 

"Why,  this  barn,"  cried  Ned,  "isn't  worth  half 
that !  I  know  something  about  real  estate  values, 
for  our  bank  makes  loans  on  farms  around 
here " 

"Your  bank  ain't  made  me  no  loans,  young1 
man!"  snapped  Mr.  Kanker.  "I  don't  need  none. 
My  place  is  free  and  clear!  And  three  thousand 
dollars  is  the  price  of  my  barn  you've  knocked 
to  smithereens.  If  you  don't  want  to  pay,  I'll 
find  a  way  to  make  you.  And  I'll  hold  you,  or 
your  tank,  as  you  call  it,  security  for  my  dam 
ages!  You  can  take  your  choice  about  that." 

"  You  can't  hold  us ! "  cried  Tom.  "Such  thing? 
aren't  done  here!" 


READY  FOR  FRANCE  149 

"Well,  then,  I'll  hold  your  tank!"  cried  the 
farmer.  "I  guess  it'll  sell  for  pretty  nigh  onto 
what  you  owe  me,  though  what  it's  good  for  I 
can't  see.  So  you  pay  me  three  thousand  dollars 
or  leave  your  machine  here  as  security." 

"That's  the  game!"  whispered  Ned.  "There's 
some  plot  here.  They  want  to  get  possession  of 
your  tank,  Tom,  and  they've  seized  on  this  chance 
to  do  it." 

"I  believe  you,"  agreed  the  young  inventor. 
"Well,  they'll  find  that  two  can  play  at  that  game. 
Mr.  Kanker,"  he  went  on,  "it  is  out  of  the  ques 
tion  to  claim  your  barn  is  worth  three  thousand 
dollars." 

"Oh,  is  it?"  sneered  the  farmer.  "Well,  I 
didn't  ask  you  to  come  here  and  make  kindling 
wood  of  it!  That  was  your  doings,  and  you've 
had  your  fun  out  of  it.  Now  you  can  pay  the 
piper,  and  I'm  here  to  make  you  pay!"  And  he 
brought  the  gun  around  in  a  menacing  manner. 

"He's  right,  in  a  way,"  said  Ned  to  his  chum. 
"We  should  have  secured  his  permission  first. 
He's  got  us  in  a  corner,  and  almost  any  jury  of 
farmers  around  here,  after  they  heard  the  story 
of  the  smashed  barn,  would  give  him  heavy  dam 
ages.  It  isn't  so  much  that  the  barn  is  worth  that 
as  it  is  his  property  rights  that  we've  violated.  A 
farmer's  barn  is  his  castle,  so  to  speak." 


150       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

"I  guess  you're  right,"  agreed  Tom,  with  a 
rather  rueful  face.  "But  I'm  not  going  to  hand 
him  over  three  thousand  dollars.  In  fact,  I 
haven't  that  much  with  me." 

"Oh,  well,  I  don't  suppose  he'd  want  it  all  in 
cash." 

But,  it  appeared,  that  was  just  what  the  farmer 
wanted.  He  went  over  all  his  arguments  again, 
and  it  could  not  be  denied  that  he  had  the  law  on 
his  side.  As  he  rightly  said,  Tom  could  not  ex 
pect  to  go  about  the  country,  "smashing  up  barns 
and  such  like,"  without  being  willing  to  pay. 

"Well,  what  you  going  to  do?"  asked  the 
farmer  at  last  "I  can't  stay  here  all  day.  I've 
got  work  to  do.  I  can't  go  around  smashing- 
barns.  I  want  three  thousand  dollars,  or  I'll  hold 
your  contraption  for  security. " 

This  last  he  announced  with  more  conviction 
after  he  had  had  a  talk  with  one  of  the  men  in 
the  automobile.  And  it  was  this  consultation  that 
confirmed  Tom  and  Ned  in  their  belief  that  the 
whole  thing  was  a  plot,  growing  out  of  Tom's 
rather  reckless  destruction  of  the  barn ;  a  plot  on 
the  part  of  Blakeson  and  his  gang.  That  they 
had  so  speedily  taken  advantage  of  this  situation 
carelessly  given  them  was  only  another  evidence 
of  how  closely  they  were  on  Tom's  trail. 

"That  man  who  ran  out  of  the  barn  must  have 


READY  FOR  FRANCE 

been  the  same  one  who  was  in  the  factory," 
whispered  Ned  to  his  chum.  ''He  probably  saw 
ius  coming  this  way  and  ran  on  ahead  to  have  the 
farmer  all  primed  in  readiness.  Maybe  he  knew 
you  had  planned  to  ram  the  barn." 

"Maybe  he  did.  I've  had  it  in  mind  for  some 
time,  and  spoken  to  some  of  my  men  about  it" 

"More  traitors  in  camp,  then,  I'm  afraid,  Tom. 
We'll  have  to  do  some  more  detective  work.  But 
let's  get  this  thing  settled.  He  only  wants  to  hold 
your  tank,  and  that  will  give  the  man,  into  whose 
hands  he's  playing,  a  chance  to  inspect  her." 

"I  believe  you.  But  if  I  have  to  leave  her  here 
I'll  leave  some  men  on  guard  inside.  It  won't  be 
any  worse  than  being  stalled  in  No  Man's  Land. 
In  fact,  it  won't  be  so  bad.  But  I'll  do  that  rather 
than  be  gouged." 

"No,  Tom,  you  won't.  If  you  did  leave  some 
one  on  guard,  there'd  be  too  much  chance  of  their 
getting  the  best  of  him.  You  must  take  your 
tank  away  with  you. " 

"But  how  can  I  ?  I  can't  put  up  three  thousand 
dollars  in  cash,  and  he  says  he  won't  take  a  check 
for  fear  I'll  stop  payment.  I  see  his  game,  but  I 
don't  see  how  to  block  it." 

"But  I  do!"  cried  Ned. 

"What!"  exclaimed  Tom.  "You  don't  mean 
to  say,  even  if  you  do  work  in  a  bank,  that  you've 


152        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

got  three  thousand  in  cash  concealed  about  your 
person,  do  you?" 

"Pretty  nearly,  Tom,  or  what  is  just  as  good. 
I  have  that  amount  in  Liberty  Bonds.  I  was  go~ 
ing  to  deliver  them  to  a  customer  who  has  or 
dered  them  but  not  paid  for  them.  They  are 
charged  up  against  me  at  the  bank,  but  I'm  good 
for  that,  I  guess.  Now  I'll  loan  you  these  bonds, 
and  you  can  give  them  to  this  cranky  old  farmer 
as  security  for  damages.  Mind,  don't  make  them 
as  a  payment.  They're  simply  security — the  same 
as  when  an  autoist  leaves  his  car  as  bail.  Only 
we  don't  want  to  leave  our  car,  we'd  rather  have 
it  with  us,"  and  he  looked  over  at  the  tank,  bris 
tling  with  splinters  from  the  demolished  barn. 

"Well,  I  guess  that's  the  only  way  out,"  said 
Tom.  "Lucky  you  had  those  bonds  with  you. 
I'll  take  them,  and  give  you  a  receipt  for  them. 
In  fact,  I'll  buy  them  from  you  and  let  the  farmer 
hold  them  as  security." 

And  this,  eventually,  was  done.  After  much 
hemming  and  hawing  and  consultation  with  the 
men  in  the  automobile,  Mr.  Kanker  said  he  would 
accept  the  bonds.  It  was  made  clear  that  they 
were  not  in  payment  of  any  damages,  though 
Tom  admitted  he  was  liable  for  some,  but  that 
Uncle  Sam's  war  securities  were  only  a  sort  of 
bail,  given  to  indicate  that,  some  time  later,  when 


READY  FOR  FRANCE  153 

a  jury  had  passed  on  the  matter,  the  young  in 
ventor  would  pay  Mr.  Kanker  whatever  sum  was 
agreed  upon  as  just. 

"And  now,"  said  Tom,  as  politely  as  he  could 
under  the  circumstances,  "I  suppose  we  will  be 
allowed  to  depart." 

"Yes,  take  your  old  shebang  off  en  my  prop 
erty!"  ordered  Mr.  Kanker,  with  no  very  good 
grace.  "And  if  you  go  knocking  down  any  more 
barns,  I'll  double  the  price  on  you!" 

"I  guess  he's  a  bit  roiled  because  he  couldn't 
hold  the  tank,"  observed  Ned  to  Tom,  as  they 
waked  together  to  the  big  machine.  "His  friends 
• — our  enemies — evidently  hoped  that  was  what 
could  be  done.  They  want  to  get  at  some  of  the 
secrets." 

"I  suppose  so,"  conceded  Tom.  "Well,  we're 
out  of  that,  and  I've  proved  all  I  want  to." 

"But  I  haven't— quite,"  said  Ned. 

"What's  missing?"  asked  his  chum,  as  they  got 
back  in  the  tank. 

"Well,  I'd  like  to  make  sure  that  the  fellow 
who  ran  from  the  factory  was  the  same  one  I  saw 
sneaking  out  of  the  barn.  I  believe  he  was,  and 
I  believe  that  Simpson's  crowd  engineered  this 
whole  thing." 

"I  believe  so,  too,"  Tom  agreed.  "The  next 
thing  is  to  prove  it.  But  that  will  keep  until 


154        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

later.  The  main  thing  is  we've  got  our  tank,  and 
now  I'm  going  to  get  her  ready  for  France." 

"Will  she  be  in  shape  to  ship  soon?"  asked 
Ned. 

"Yes,  if  nothing  more  happens.  I've  got  a  few; 
little  changes  and  adjustments  to  make,  and  then 
she'll  be  ready  for  the  last  test — one  of  long* 
distance  endurance  mainly.  After  that,  apart  she 
comes  to  go  to  the  front,  and  we'll  begin  making 
'em  in  quantities  here  and  on  the  other  side." 

"Good!"  cried  Ned.    "Down  with  the  Huns!" 

Without  further  incident  of  moment  they  went 
back  to  the  headquarters  of  the  tank,  and  soon 
the  great  machine  was  safe  in  the  shop  where  she 
had  been  made. 

The  next  two  weeks  were  busy  ones  for  Tom, 
and  in  them  he  put  the  finishing  touches  on  his 
machine,  gave  it  a  long  test  over  fields  and 
through  woods,  until  finally  he  announced: 

"She's  as  complete  as  I  can  make  her!  She's 
ready  for  France!" 


CHAPTER   XIX 

TOM   IS   MISSING 

WITH  Tom  Swift's  announcement,  that  his 
tank  was  at  last  ready  for  real  action,  came  the 
end  of  the  long  nights  and  days  given  over  on 
the  part  of  his  father,  himself,  and  his  men  to  the 
development  and  refinement  of  the  machine,  to 
getting  plans  and  specifications  ready  so  that  the 
tanks  could  be  made  quickly  and  in  large  numbers 
in  this  country  and  abroad  and  to  the  actual  build 
ing  of  Tank  A.  Now  all  this  was  done  at  last, 
and  the  first  completed  tank  was  ready  to  be 
shipped. 

Meanwhile  the  matter  of  the  demolished  barn 

had  been  left  for  legal  action.    Tom  and  Ned,  it 

developed,  had  done  the  proper  thing  under  the 

circumstances,  and  they  were  sure  they  had  foiled 

kat  least  one  plan  of  the  plotters. 

"But  they  won't  stop  there,"  declared  Ned, 
>vho  had  constituted  himself  a  sort  of  detective1. 
*"  They  're  lying  back  and  waiting  for  another 
chance,  Tom." 

155 


156       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

"Well,  they  won't  get  it  at  my  tank!"  declared 
the  young  inventor,  with  a  smile.  "I've  finished 
testing  her  on  the  road.  All  I  need  do  now  is  to 
run  her  around  this  place  if  I  have  to;  and  there 
won't  be  much  need  of  that  before  she's  taken 
apart  for  shipment.  Did  you  get  any  trace  of 
Simpson  or  the  men  who  are  with  him — Blake- 
son  and  the  others?" 

"No,"  Ned  answered.  "I've  been  nosing  around 
about  that  farmer,  Kanker,  but  I  can't  get  any 
thing  out  of  him.  For  all  that,  I'm  sure  he  was 
egged  on  to  his  hold-up  game  by  some  of  your 
enemies.  Everything  points  that  way.** 

"I  think  you're  right,"  agreed  Tom.  "Well, 
;we  won't  bother  any  more  about  him.  When  the 
trial  comes  on,  I'll  pay  what  the  jury  says  is  right. 
It'll  be  worth  it,  for  I  proved  that  Tank  A  can 
eat  up  brick,  stone  or  wooden  buildings  and  not 
get  indigestion.  That's  what  I  set  out  to  do.  So 
don't  worry  any  more  about  it,  Ned." 

"I'm  not  worrying,  but  I'd  like  to  get  the  best 
of  those  fellows.  The  idea  of  asking  three  thou 
sand  dollars  for  a  shell  of  a  barn!" 

"Never  mind,"  replied  Tom.  "We'll  come  out 
all  right." 

Now  that  the  Liberty  Loan  drive  had  some" 
what  slackened,  Ned  had  more  leisure  time,  and 
he  spent  parts  of  his  days  and  not  a  few  of  his 


TOM  IS  MISSING  157 

evenings  at  Tom  Swift's.  Mr.  Damon  was  also 
a  frequent  visitor,  and  he  never  tired  of  viewing 
the  tank.  Every  chance  he  got,  when  they  tested 
the  big  machine  in  the  large  field,  so  well  fenced 
in,  the  eccentric  man  was  on  hand,  with  his 

"bless  my !"  whatever  happened  to  come 

most  readily  to  his  mind. 

Tom,  now  that  his  invention  was  well-nigK 
perfected,  was  not  so  worried  about  not  having 
the  tank  seen,  even  at  close  range,  and  the  en 
closure  was  not  so  strictly  guarded. 

This  in  a  measure  was  disappointing  to  Eradi 
cate,  who  liked  the  importance  of  strutting  about 
with  a  nickle  shield  pinned  to  his  coat,  to  show; 
that  he  was  a  member  of  the  Swift  &  Company 
plant.  As  for  the  giant  Koku,  he  really  cared 
little  what  he  did,  so  long  as  he  pleased  Tom,  for 
whom  he  had  an  affection  that  never  changed. 
Koku  would  as  soon  sit  under  a  shady  tree  doing 
nothing  as  watch  for  spies  or  traitors,  of  whose 
identity  he  was  never  sure. 

So  it  came  that  there  was  not  so  strict  a  guard 
about  the  place,  and  Tom  and  Ned  had  more  time 
to  themselves.  Not  that  the  young  inventor  was 
not  busy,  for  the  details  of  shipping  Tank  A  to 
France  came  to  him,  as  did  also  the  arrange 
ments  for  making  others  in  this  country  and 
planning  for  the  manufacture  abroad 


158       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

It  was  one  evening,  after  a  particularly  hard 
day's  work,  when  Tom  had  been  making  a  test  in 
turning  the  tank  in  a  small  space  in  the  enclosed 
yard,  that  the  two  young  men  were  sitting  in  the 
machine  shop,  discussing  various  matters. 

The  telephone  bell  rang,  and  Ned,  being  near 
est,  answered. 

"It's  for  you,  Tom,"  he  said,  and  there  was  a 
smile  on  the  face  of  the  young  bank  clerk. 

"Urn!"  murmured  Tom,  and  he  smiled  also. 

Ned  could  not  repress  more  smiles  as  Tom  took 
'tip  the  conversation  over  the  wire,  and  it  did  not 
take  long  for  the  chum  of  the  youthful  inventor 
,to  verify  his  guess  that  Mary  Nestor  was  at  the 
other  end  of  the  instrument 

"Yes,  yes,"  Tom  was  heard  to  say.  "Why,  of 
course,  I'll  be  glad  to  come  over.  Yes,  he's  here. 
What?  Bring  him  along?  I  will  if  he'll  come. 
Oh,  tell  him  Helen  is  there !  'Nough  said !  He'll 
come,  all  right!" 

And  Tom,  without  troubling  to  consult  his 
friend,  hung  up  the  receiver. 

"What's  that  you're  committing  me  to?"  asked 
Ned. 

"Oh,  Mary  wants  us  to  come  over  and  spend 
the  evening.  Helen  Sever  is  there,  and  they  say 
we  can  take  them  downtown  if  we  like." 

"I  guess  we  like,"  laughed  Ned.    "Come  along! 


TOM  IS  MISSING  159 

We've  had  enough  of  musty  old  problems,"  for 
he  had  been  helping  Tom  in  some  calculations 
regarding  strength  of  materials  and  the  weight- 
bearing  power  of  triangularly  constructed  girders 
as  compared  to  the  arched  variety. 

"Yes,  I  guess  it  will  do  us  good  to  get  out," 
and  the  two  friends  were  soon  on  their  way. 

"What's  this?"  asked  Mary,  with  a  laugh,  as 
Tom  held  out  a  package  tied  with  pink  string. 
"More  dynamite?"  she  added,  referring  to  an 
incident  which  had  once  greatly  perturbed  the  ex 
citable  Mr.  Nestor. 

"If  she  doesn't  want  it,  perhaps  Helen  will 
take  it,"  suggested  Ned,  with  a  twinkle  in 
his  eyes.  "Halloran  said  they  were  just  irt 
fresh " 

"Oh,  you  delightful  boy!"  cried  Helen.  "I'm 
just  dying  for  some  chocolates!  Let  me  open 
them,  Mary,  if  you're  afraid  of  dynamite." 

"The  only  powder  in  them,"  said  Tom,  "is  the 
powdered  sugar.  That  can't  blow  you  up." 

And  then  the  young  people  made  merry,  Tom, 
for  the  time  being,  forgetting  all  about  his  tank. 

It  was  rather  late  when  the  two  young  men 
'strolled  back  toward  the  Swift  home,  Ned  walk 
ing  that  way  with  his  chum.  Tom  started  out  in 
the  direction  of  the  building  where  the  tank  was 
housed. 


160        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

"Going  to  have  a  good-night  look  at  her?" 
asked  Ned. 

"Well,  I  want  to  make  sure  the  watchman  is 
on  guard.  We'll  begin  taking  her  apart  in  a  few 
days,  and  I  don't  want  anything  to  happen  be 
tween  now  and  then." 

They  walked  on  toward  the  big  structure,  and, 
as  they  approached  from  the  side,  they  were  both 
startled  to  see  a  dark  shadow — at  least  so  it 
seemed  to  the  youths — dart  away  from  one  of 
the  windows. 

"Look!"  gasped  Ned. 

.     "Hello,  there!"  cried  Tom  sharply.     "Who's 
that?    Who  are  you?" 

There  was  no  answer,  and  then  the  fleeing 
shadow  was  merged  in  the  other  blackness  of  the 
night 

"Maybe  it  was  the  watchman  making  his 
rounds,"  suggested  Ned. 

"No,"  answered  Tom,  as  he  broke  into  a  run. 
"If  it  was,  he'd  have  answered.  There's  some 
thing  wrong  here!" 

But  he  could  find  nothing  when  he  reached  the 
window  from  which  he  and  Ned  had  seen  the 
shadow  dart.  An  examination  by  means  of  a 
pocket  electric  light  betrayed  nothing  wrong  with 
the  sash,  and  if  there  were  footprints  beneath 
*he  casement  they  indicated  nothing,  for  that 


TOM  IS  MISSING  161 

side  of  the  factory  was  one  frequently  used  by 
the  workmen. 

Tom  went  into  the  building,  and,  for  a  time, 
could  not  find  the  watchman.  When  he  did  come 
upon  the  man,  he  found  him  rubbing  his  eyes 
sleepily,  and  acting  as  though  he  had  just  awak 
ened  from  a  nap. 

"This  isn't  any  way  to  be  on  duty!"  said  Tom 
sharply.  "You're  not  paid  for  sleeping!" 

"I  know  it,  Mr.  Swift,"  was  the  apologetic 
answer.  "I  don't  know  what's  come  over  me  to 
night.  I  never  felt  so  sleepy  in  all  my  life.  I 
had  my  usual  sleep  this  afternoon,  too,  and  I've 
drunk  strong  coffee  to  keep  awake." 

"Are  you  sure  you  didn't  drink  anything  else?" 

"You  know  I'm  a  strict  temperance  man." 

"I  know  you  are,"  said  Tom;  "but  I  thought 
maybe  you  might  have  a  cold,  or  something  like 
that." 

"No,  I  haven't  taken  a  thing.  I  did  have  a 
drink  of  soda  water  before  I  came  on  duty,  but 
that's  all." 

"Where'd  you  get  it?"  asked  Tom. 

"Well,  a  man  treated  me." 

"Who?" 

"I  don't  know  his  name.  He  met  me  on  the 
street  and  asked  me  how  to  get  to  Plowden's 
hardware  store.  I  showed  him — walked  part  of 


162       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

the  way,  in  fact — and  when  I  left  he  said  he  was 
going  to  have  some  soda,  and  asked  me  to  have 
some.  I  did,  and  it  tasted  good." 

"Well,  don't  go  to  sleep  again,"  suggested  Tom 
good-naturedly.  "Did  you  hear  anything  at  the 
side  window  a  while  ago?" 

"Not  a  thing,  Mr.  Swift.  I'll  be  all  right  now. 
I'll  take  a  turn  outside  in  the  air." 

"All  right,"  assented  the  young  inventor. 

Then,  as  he  turned  to  go  into  the  house  and 
was  bidding  Ned  good-night,  Tom  said : 

"I  don't  like  this." 

"What?"  asked  his  chum. 

"My  sleepy  watchman  and  the  figure  at  the 
window.  I  more  than  half  suspect  that  one  of 
Blakeson's  tools  followed  Kent  for  the  purpose  of 
buying  him  soda,  only  I  think  they  might  have 
put  a  drop  or  two  of  chloral  in  it  before  he  got  it. 
That  would  make  him  sleep." 

"What  are  you  going  to  do,  Tom?" 

"Put  another  man  on  guard.  If  they  think 
they  can  get  into  the  factory  at  night,  and  steal 
my  plans,  or  get  ideas  from  my  tank,  I'll  fool 
'em.  I'll  have  another  man  on  guard." 

This  Tom  did,  also  telling  Koku  to  sleep  in  the 
place,  to  be  ready  if  called.  But  there  was  no 
disturbance  that  night,  and  the  next  day  the  work 
of  completing  the  tank  went  on  with  a  rush. 


TOM  IS  MISSING  163 

It  was  a  day  or  so  after  this,  and  Tom  had 
fixed  on  it  as  the  time  for  taking  the  big  machine 
apart  for  shipment,  that  Ned  received  a  telephone 
message  at  the  bank  from  Mr.  Damon. 

"Is  Tom  Swift  over  with  you?"  inquired  the 
eccentric  man. 

"No.    Why?"  Ned  answered. 

"Well,  I'm  at  his  shop,  and  he  isn't  here.  His 
father  says  he  received  a  message  from  you  a; 
little  while  ago,  saying  to  come  over  in  a  hurry, 
and  he  went.  Says  you  told  him  to  meet  you 
out  at  that  farmer  Kanker's  place.  I  thought 
maybe " 

"At  Kanker's  place!"  cried  Ned.  "Say,  some" 
thing's  wrong,  Mr.  Damon!  Isn't  Tom  there?" 

"No;  I'm  at  his  home,  and  he's  been  gone  for 
some  time.  His  father  supposed  he  was  with 
you.  I  thought  I  would  telephone  to  make  sure." 

"Whew!"  whistled  Ned.  "There's  something 
doing  here,  all  right,  and  something  wrong!  I'll 
be  right  over!"  he  added,  as  he  hung  up  the  re 
ceiver. 


'CHAPTER   XX 

THE   SEARCH 

"HAVEN'T  you  seen  anything  of  him?"  asked 
Mr.  Damon,  as  Ned  jumped  out  of  his  small 
runabout  at  the  Swift  home  as  soon  as  possible 
after  receiving  the  telephone  message  that  seemed 
to  presage  something  wrong. 

"Seen  him?  No,  certainly  not!"  answered  the 
young  bank  clerk.  "I'm  as  much  surprised  as 
you  are  over  it.  What  happened,  anyhow?" 

"Bless  my  memorandum  pad,  but  I  hardly 
know!"  answered  the  eccentric  man.  "I  arrived 
here  a  little  while  ago,  stopping  in  merely  to  pay 
Tom  a  visit,  as  I  often  do,  and  he  wasn't  here. 
His  father  was  anxiously  waiting  for  him,  too, 
wishing  to  consult  him  about  some  shop  matters. 
Mr.  Swift  said  Tom  had  gone  out  with  you,  or 
over  to  your  house — I  wasn't  quite  sure  which  at 
first — and  was  expected  back  any  minute. 

"Then  I  called  you  up,"  went  on  Mr.  Damon, 
"and  I  was  surprised  to  learn  you  hadn't  seen 
fTom.  There  must  be  something  wrong,  I  think." 
164 


THE  SEARCH  165 

"I'm  sure  of  it!"  exclaimed  Ned.  "Let's  find 
Mr.  Swift.  And  what's  this  about  his  going  to 
meet  me  over  at  the  place  of  that  farmer,  Mr. 
'Kanker,  where  we  had  the  trouble  about  the  barn 
Tom  demolished?" 

"I  hardly  know,  myself.  Perhaps  Mr.  Swift 
can  tell  us." 

But  Mr.  Swift  was  able  to  throw  but  little 
light  on  Tom's  disappearance — whether  a  natural 
or  forced  disappearance  remained  to  be  seen. 

"No  matter  where  he  is,  we'll  get  him,"  de 
clared  Ned.  "He  hasn't  been  away  a  great  while, 
and  it  may  turn  out  that  his  absence  is  perfectly 
natural. " 

"And  if  it's  due  to  the  plots  of  any  of  his 
rivals,"  said  Mr.  Damon,  "I'll  denounce  them  all 
as  traitors,  bless  my  insurance  policy,  if  I  don't! 
And  that's  what  they  are!  They're  playing  into 
the  hands  of  the  enemy!" 

"All  right,"  said  Ned.  "But  the  thing  to  do 
now  is  to  get  Tom.  Perhaps  Mrs.  Baggert  can 
help  us." 

It  developed  that  the  housekeeper  was  of  more 
assistance  in  giving  information  than  was  Mr. 
Switt. 

"It  was  several  hours  ago,"  she  said,  "that  the 
telephone  rang  and  some  one  asked  for  Tom. 
The  operator  switched  the  call  to  the  phone  out 


166       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

in  the  tank  shop  where  he  was,  and  Tom  began 
to  talk.  The  operator,  as  Tom  had  instructed 
her,  listened  in,  as  Tom  wants  always  a  witness 
to  most  matters  that  go  on  over  his  wires  of  late." 

"What  did  she  hear?"  asked  Ned  eagerly. 

"She  heard  what  she  thought  was  your  voice, 
I  believe,"  the  housekeeper  said. 

"Me!"  cried  the  young  bank  clerk.  "I  haven't 
talked  to  Tom  to-day,  over  the  phone  or  any  other 
way.  But  what  next?" 

"Well,  the  operator  didn't  listen  much  after 
that,  knowing  that  any  talk  between  Tom  and 
you  was  of  a  nature  not  to  need  a  witness.  Tom 
hung  up  and  then  he  came  in  here,  quite  excited, 
and  began  to  get  ready  to  go  out." 

"What  was  he  excited  about?"  asked  Mr.  Da 
mon.  "Bless  my  unlucky  stars,  but  a  person 
ought  to  keep  calm  under  such  circumstances! 
That's  the  only  way  to  do!  Keep  calm!  Great 
Scott!  But  if  I  had  my  way,  all  those  German 

spies  would  be Oh,  pshaw !  Nothing  is  too 

bad  for  them!  It  makes  my  blood  boil  when  I 
think  of  what  they've  done!  Tom  should  have 
kept  cool!" 

"Go  on.  What  was  Tom  excited  about?"  Ned 
turned  to  the  housekeeper. 

"Well,  he  said  you  had  called  him  to  tell  him 
to  meet  you  over  at  that  farmer's  place,"  went  on 


THE  SEARCH  167 

Mrs.  Baggert  "He  said  you  had  some  news  for 
him  about  the  men  who  had  tried  to  get  hold  of 
some  of  his  tank  secrets,  and  he  was  quite  worked 
up  over  the  chance  of  catching  the  rascals." 

"Whew!"  whistled  Ned.  "This  is  getting  more 
complicated  every  minute.  There's  something 
deep  here,  Mr.  Damon." 

"I  agree  with  you,  Ned.  And  the  sooner  we 
find  Tom  Swift  the  better.  What  next,  Mrs. 
Baggert?" 

"Well,  Tom  got  ready  and  went  away  in  his 
small  automobile.  He  said  he'd  be  back  as  soon 
as  he  could  after  meeting  you." 

"And  I  never  said  a  word  to  him!"  cried  Ned. 
"It's  all  a  plot — a  scheme  of  that  Blakeson  gang 
to  get  him  into  their  power.  Oh,  how  could  Tom 
be  so  fooled?  He  knows  my  voice,  over  the 
phone  as  well  as  otherwise.  I  don't  see  how  he 
could  be  taken  in." 

"Let's  ask  the  telephone  operator,"  suggested 
Mr.  Damon.  "She  knows  your  voice,  too.  Per 
haps  she  can  give  us  a  clew." 
,  A  talk  with  the  young  woman  at  the  telephone 
switchboard  in  the  Swift  plant  brought  out  a  new 
point.  This  was  that  the  speaker,  in  response  to 
whose  information  Tom  Swift  had  left  home, 
had  not  said  he  was  Ned  Newton. 

"He  said,"  reported  Miss  Blair,  "that  he  was 


"168       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

speaking  for  you,  Mr.  Newton,  as  you  were  busy 
in  the  bank.  Whoever  it  was,  said  you  wanted; 
Tom  to  meet  you  at  the  Kanker  farm.  I  heard 
that  much  over  the  wire,  and  naturally  supposed 
the  message  came  from  you." 

"Well,  that  puts  a  little  different  face  on  it," 
said  Mr.  Damon.  "Tom  wasn't  deceived  by  the 
voice,  then,  for  he  must  have  thought  it  was  some 
one  speaking  for  you,  Ned." 

"But  the  situation  is  serious,  just  the  same," 
declared  Ned.  "Tom  has  gone  to  keep  an  ap 
pointment  I  never  made,  and  the  question  is  with 
whom  will  he  keep  it?" 

"That's  it!"  cried  the  eccentric  man.  "Prob 
ably  some  of  those  scoundrels  were  waiting  at  the 
farm  for  him,  and  they've  got  him  no  one  knows 
where  by  this  time!" 

"Oh,  hardly  as  bad  as  that,"  suggested  Ned. 
"Tom  is  able  to  look  out  for  himself.  He'd  put 
tip  a  big  fight  before  he'd  permit  himself  to  be 
carried  off." 

"Well,  what  do  you  think  did  happen?"  asked 
Mr.  Damon. 

"I  think  they  wanted  to  get  him  out  to  the 
'farm  to  see  if  they  couldn't  squeeze  some  more 
money  out  of  him,"  was  the  answer.  "Tom  was 
pretty  easy  in  that  barn  business,  and  I  guess 
Kanker  was  sore  because  he  hadn't  asked  a  larger 


THE  SEARCH  169 

sum.  They  knew  Tom  wouldn't  come  out  on 
their  own  invitation,  so  they  forged  my  name,  so 
to  speak." 

"Can  you  get  Tom  back?"  asked  Mrs.  Baggert 
anxiously. 

"Of  course!"  declared  Ned,  though  it  must  be 
admitted  he  spoke  with  more  confidence  than  he 
really  felt.  "We'll  begin  the  search  right  away." 

"And  if  I  can  get  my  hands  on  any  of  those 

villains "  spluttered  Mr.  Damon,  dancing 

around,  as  Mrs.  Baggert  said,  "like  a  hen  on  a  hot 
griddle/'  which  seemed  to  describe  him  very  well,, 
"if  I  can  get  hold  of  any  of  those  scoundrels, 

I'll — I'll Bless  my  collar  button,  I  don't 

know  what  I  will  do!  Come  on,  Ned!" 

"Yes,  I  guess  we'd  better  get  busy,"  agreed  the 
young  bank  clerk.  "Tom  has  gone  somewhere, 
that's  certain,  and  under  a  misapprehension.  It 
may  be  that  we  are  needlessly  alarmed,  or  they 
may  mean  bad  business.  At  any  rate,  it's  up  to 
us  to  find  Tom." 

In  Ned's  runabout,  which  was  a  speedier  car 
than  that  of  the  eccentric  man,  the  two  set  off  for 
Ranker's  farm.  On  the  way  they  stopped  at  va 
rious  places  in  town,  where  Tom  was  in  the  habit 
of  doing  business,  to  inquire  if  he  had  been  seen. 

But  there  was  no  trace  of  him.     The  next 


170       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

thing  to  do  was  to  learn  if  he  had  really  started 
for  the  Kanker  farm. 

"For  if  he  didn't  go  there,"  suggested  Ned,  "it 
will  look  funny  for  us  to  go  out  there  making 
inquiries  about  him.  And  it  may  be  that  after  he 
got  that  message  Tom  decided  not  to  go." 

Accordingly  they  made  enough  inquiries  to  es 
tablish  the  fact  that  Tom  had  started  for  the  farm 
of  the  rascally  Kanker,  who  had  been  so  insistent 
in  the  matter  of  his  almost  worthless  barn. 

A  number  of  people  who  knew  Tom  well  had 
seen  him  pass  in  the  direction  of  Kanker's  place, 
and  some  had  spoken  to  him,  for  the  young  in 
ventor  was  well  known  in  the  vicinity  of  Shoptori 
and  the  neighboring  towns. 

"Well,  out  to  Kanker's  we'll  go!"  decided  Ned, 
"And  if  anything  has  happened  to  Tom  there—* 
well,  we'll  make  whoever  is  responsible  wish  it 
hadn't!" 

"Bless  my  fountain  pen,  but  that's  what  we 
will!"  chimed  in  Mr.  Damon. 

And  so  the  two  began  the  search  for  the  miss 
ing  youth. 


CHAPTER   XXI 

A   PRISONER 

AMOS  RANKER  came  to  the  door  of  his  farm 
house  as  Ned  and  Mr.  Damon  drove  up  in  the 
runabout.  There  was  an  unpleasant  grin  on  the 
not  very  prepossessing  face  of  the  farmer,  and 
what  Ned  thought  was  a  cunning  look,  as  he 
slouched  out  and  asked: 

"Well,  what  do  you  want?  Come  to  smash  up 
any  more  of  my  barns  at  three  thousand  dollars 
a  smash?" 

"Hardly,"  answered  Ned  shortly.  "Your 
prices  are  too  high  for  such  ramshackle  barns  as 
you  have.  Where's  Tom  Swift?"  he  asked 
sharply. 

"Huh!  Do  you  mean  that  young  whipper- 
snapper  with  his  big  traction  engine?"  demanded 
Mr.  Kanker. 

"Look  here!"  blustered  Mr.   Damon,   "Tom 
Swift  is  neither  a  whippersnapper  nor  is  his  ma 
chine  a  traction  engine.    It's  a  war  tank. " 
171 


172       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

"That  doesn't  matter  much  to  me,"  said  the 
farmer,  with  a  grating  laugh.  "It  looks  like  a 
traction  engine,  though  it  smashes  things  up 
more'n  any  one  I  ever  saw." 

"That  isn't  the  point,"  broke  in  Ned.  "Where 
is  my  friend,  Tom  Swift?  That's  what  we  want 
to  know." 

"Huh !  What  makes  you  think  I  can  tell  you ?" 
demanded  Ranker. 

"Didn't  he  come  out  here?"  asked  Mr.  Damon. 

"Not  as  I  knows  of,"  was  the  surly  answer. 

"Look  here!"  exclaimed  Ned,  and  his  tones 
were  firm,  with  no  bluster  nor  bluff  in  them,  "we 
came  out  here  to  find  Tom  Swift,  and  we're 
going  to  find  him!  We  have  reason  to  believe 
he's  here — at  least,  he  started  for  here,"  he  sub 
stituted,  as  he  wished  to  make  no  statement  he 
could  not  prove.  "Now  we  don't  claim  we  have 
any  right  to  be  on  your  property,  and  we  don't 
intend  to  stay  here  any  longer  than  we  can  help. 
But  we  do  claim  the  right,  in  common  decency, 
to  ask  if  you  have  seen  anything  of  Tom.  There 
may  have  been  an  accident ;  there  may  have  been 
foul  play;  and  there  may  be  international  com 
plications  in  this  business.  If  there  are,  those  in 
volved  won't  get  off  as  easily  as  they  think.  I'd 
advise  you  to  keep  a  civil  tongue  in  your  head 
and  answer  our  questions.  If  we  have  to  get  the 


A  PRISONER  173 

police  and  detectives  out  here,  as  well  as  the  gov 
ernmental  department  of  justice,  you  may  hava 
to  answer  their  questions,  and  they  won't  be  as 
decent  to  you  as  we  are !" 

"Hurray!"  whispered  Mr  Damon  to  Ned. 
"That's  the  way  to  talk!" 

And  indeed  the  forceful  remarks  of  the  young- 
bank  clerk  did  appear  to  have  a  salutary  effect  on 
the  surly  farmer.  His  manner  changed  at  once 
and  his  grin  faded. 

"I  don't  know  nothing  about  Tom  Swift  or 
any  of  your  friends,"  he  said.  "I've  got  my  farm 
work  to  do,  an4  I  do  it.  It's  hard  enough  to  earn 
a  living  these  war  times  without  taking  part  in 
plots.  I  haven't  seen  Tom  Swift  since  the  trou 
ble  he  made  about  my  barn." 

"Then  he  hasn't  been  here  to-day?"  asked  Ned. 

"No;  and  not  for  a  good  many  days." 

Ned  looked  at  Mr.  Damon,  and  the  two  ex 
changed  uneasy  glances.  Tom  had  certainly 
started  for  the  Kanker  farm,  and  indeed  had. 
come  to  within  a  few  miles  of  it.  That  much 
was  certain,  as  testified  to  b>  a  number  of  resi 
dents  along  the  route  from  Shopton,  who  had 
seen  the  young  inventor  passing  in  his  car. 

Now  it  appeared  he  had  not  arrived.  The 
changed  air  of  the  farmer  seemed  to  indicate  that 
he  was  speaking  the  truth.  Mr.  Damon  and  Ned 


174        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

were  inclined  to  believe  him.  If  they  had  any 
last,  lingering  doubts  in  the  matter,  they  were 
dispelled  when  Mr.  Kanker  said : 

"You  can  search  the  place  if  you  like.  I 
haven't  any  reason  to  feel  friendly  toward  you, 
but  I  certainly  don't  want  to  get  into  trouble 
with  the  Government.  Look  around  all  you 
like." 

"No,  we'll  take  your  word  for  it,"  said  Ned, 
quickly  concluding  that  now  they  had  got  the 
farmer  where  they  wanted  him,  they  could  gain 
more  by  an  appearance  of  friendliness  than  by 
threats  or  harsh  words.  "Then  you  haven't  seen 
him,  either?" 

"Not  a  sign  of  him." 

"One  thing  more,"  went  on  Tom's  chum,  "and 
then  we'll  look  farther.  Weren't  you  induced  by 
a  man  named  Simpson,  or  one  named  Blakeson, 
to  make  the  demand  of  three  thousand  dollars' 
damage  for  your  barn  ?" 

"No,  it  wasn't  anybody  of  either  of  those 
names,"  admitted  Mr.  Kanker,  evidently  a  bit  put 
out  by  the  question. 

"It  was  some  one,  though,  wasn't  it?"  insisted 
Ned. 

"Waal,  a  man  did  come  to  me  the  day  the  barn 
was  smashed,  and  just  afore  it  happened,  and 
said  an  all-fired  big  traction  engine  was  headed 


A  PRISONER  175 

this  way,  and  that  a  young  feller  who  was  half 
crazy  was  running  it.  This  man — I  don't  know 
who  he  was,  being  a  stranger  to  me — said  if  the 
engine  ran  into  any  of  my  property  and  did  dam 
ages  I  should  collect  for  it  on  the  spot,  or  hold 
the  machine. 

"Sure  enough,  that's  what  happened,  and  I 
did  it.  That  man  had  an  auto,  and  he  brought 
me  and  some  of  my  men  out  to  the  smashed  barn. 
That's  all  I  know  about  it." 

"I  thought  some  one  put  you  up  to  it,"  com 
mented  Ned.  "This  was  some  of  the  gang's 
work,"  he  went  on  to  Mr.  Damon.  "They  hoped 
to  get  possession  of  Tom's  tank  long  enough  to 
find  out  some  of  the  secrets.  By  having  the 
Liberty  Bonds,  I  fooled  'em." 

"That's  what  you  did !"  said  Mr.  Damon.  "But 
what  can  we  do  now?" 

"I  don't  know,"  Ned  was  forced  to  admit 
"But  I  should  think  we'd  better  go  back  to  the 
last  place  where  he  was  seen  to  pass  in  his  auto, 
and  try  to  get  on  his  trail." 

Mr.  Damon  agreed  that  this  was  a  wise  plan, 
and,  after  a  casual  look  around  the  farmhouse 
and  other  buildings  on  Kanker's  place  and  finding 
nothing  to  arouse  their  suspicions,  the  two  left  in 
iNed's  speedy  little  machine. 

"It  is  mighty  queer!"  remarked  the  young  bank 


clerk,  as  they  shot  along  the  country  road.  "It 
isn't  like  Tom  to  get  caught  this  way." 

"Maybe  he  isn't  caught,"  suggested  the  other. 
"Tom  has  been  in  many  a  tight  place  and  gotten 
out,  as  you  and  I  well  know.  Maybe  it  will  be 
the  same  now,  though  it  does  look  suspicious,  that 
fake  message  coming  from  you." 

"Not  coming  from  me,  you  mean,"  corrected 
Ned.  "Well,  we'll  do  the  best  we  can." 

They  proceeded  back  to  where  they  had  last 
hacl  a  trace  of  Tom  in  his  machine,  and  there 
could  only  confirm  what  they  had  learned  at  first, 
namely,  that  the  young  inventor  had  departed  in 
the  direction  of  the  Kanker  farm,  after  having 
filled  his  radiator  with  water,  and  chatting  with  a 
farmer  he  knew. 

"Then  this  is  where  the  trail  divides,"  said 
Ned,  as  they  went  back  over  the  road,  coming  to 
a  point  where  the  highway  branched  off.  "If  he 
went  this  way,  he  went  to  Kanker's  place,  or  he 
would  be  in  the  way  of  going.  He  isn't  there,  it 
seems,  and  didn't  go  there." 

"If  he  took  the  other  road,  where  would  He 
go?"  asked  Mr.  Damon. 

"Any  one  of  a  dozen  places.  I  guess  we'll 
have  to  follow  the  trail  and  make  all  the  inquiries 
•we  can." 

But    from   the   point   where   the    two   roads 


A  PRISONER  177 

branched,  all  trace  of  Tom  Swift  was  lost.  No 
one  had  seen  him  in  his  machine,  though  he  was 
known  to  more  than  one  resident  along  the  high 
way. 

"Well,  what  are  we  going  to  do?"  asked  Mr. 
Damon,  after  they  had  traveled  some  distance 
and  had  obtained  no  clews. 

"Suppose  we  call  up  his  home,"  suggested  Ned, 
as  they  came  to  a  country  store  where  there  was 
a  telephone.  "It  may  be  he  has  returned.  In 
that  case,  all  our  worry  has  gone  for  nothing." 

"I  don't  believe  it  has,"  said  Mr.  Damon.  "But 
if  we  call  up  and  ask  if  Tom  is  back  it  will  show 
twe  haven't  found  him,  and  his  father  will  be  more 
worried  than  ever." 

"We  can  ask  the  telephone  girl,  and  tell  her  to 
keep  quiet  about  it,"  decided  Ned;  and  this  they 
did. 

But  the  answer  that  came  back  over  the  wire 
was  discouraging.  For  Tom  had  not  returned, 
and  there  was  no  word  from  him.  There  was 
an  urgent  message  for  him,  too,  from  govern 
ment  officials  regarding  the  tank,  the  girl  re 
ported. 

"Well,  we've  just  got  to  find  him — that's  all!" 
declared  Ned.  "I  guess  we'll  have  to  make  a 
regular  search  of  it.  I  did  hope  we'd  find  him 
out  at  the  Ranker  farm.  But  since  he  isn't  there, 


178       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

nor  anywhere  about,  as  far  as  we  can  tell,  we've 
got  to  try  some  other  plan." 

"You  mean  notify  the  authorities?"  asked  Mr. 
Damon. 

)  "Hardly  that — yet  But  I'll  get  some  of  Tom's 
friends  who  have  machines,  and  we'll  start  them 
out  on  the  trail.  In  that  way  we  can  cover  a  lot 
of  ground." 

Late  that  afternoon,  and  far  into  the  night,  a 
number  of  the  friends  of  Tom  and  Ned  went 
about  the  country  in  automobiles,  seeking  news  of- 
the  young  inventor.  Mr.  Swift  became  very  anx 
ious  over  the  non-return  of  his  son,  and  felt  the 
authorities  should  be  notified;  but  as  all  agreed 
that  the  local  police  could  not  handle  the  matter 
and  that  it  would  have  to  be  put  into  the  hands  of 
the  United  States  Secret  Service,  he  consented  to 
wait  for  a  while  before  doing  this. 

All  the  next  day  the  search  was  kepfup,  and 
Ned  and  Mr.  Damon  were  getting  discouraged, 
not  to  say  alarmed,  when,  most  unexpectedly, 
they  received  a  clew. 

They  had  been  traveling  around  the  country  on 
little-frequented  roads  in  the  hope  that  perhaps 
Tom  might  have  taken  one  and  disabled  his  ma 
chine  so  that  he  was  unable  to  proceed. 

"Though  in  that  case  he  could,  and  would,  have 
sent  word,"  said  Ned. 


A  PRISONER  179 

"Unless  he's  hurt,"  suggested  Mr.  Damon. 

"Well,  maybe  that  is  what's  happened,"  Ned 
was  saying,  when  they  noticed  coming  toward 
them  a  very  much  dilapidated  automobile,  driven 
by  a  farmer,  and  on  the  seat  beside  him  was  a 
small,  barefoot  boy. 

"Which  is  the  nearest  road  to  Shopton?"  asked 
the  man,  bringing  his  wheezing  machine  to  a  stop. 

"Who  are  you  looking  for  in  Shopton?"  asked 
Ned,  while  a  strange  feeling  came  over  him  that, 
somehow  or  other,  Tom  was  concerned  in  the 
question. 

"I'm  looking  for  friends  of  a  Tom  Swift," 
was  the  answer. 

"Tom  Swift?  Where  is  he?  What's  hap 
pened  to  him?"  cried  Ned. 

"Bless  my  dyspepsia  tablets  I"  exclaimed  Mr. 
Damon.  "Do  you  know  where  he  is?" 

"Not  exactly,"  answered  the  farmer;  "but 
here's  a  note  from  some  one  that  signs  himself 
'Tom  Swift,'  and  it  says  he's  a  prisoner!" 


CHAPTER   XXII 

RESCUED 

FOR  a  moment  Ned  and  Mr.  Damon  gazed  at 
the  farmer  in  his  rattletrap  of  an  auto,  and  then 
they  looked  at  the  fluttering  piece  of  paper  in  his 
hand.  Thence  their  gaze  traveled  to  the  ragged 
and  barefoot  lad  sitting  beside  the  farmer. 

"I  found  it!"  announced  the  boy. 

"Found  what?"  asked  Ned. 

"That  there  note!" 

Without  asking  any  more  questions,  reserving 
them  until  they  knew  more  about  the  matter,  Mr. 
Damon  and  Ned  each  reached  out  a  hand  for  the 
paper  the  farmer  held.  The  latter  handed  it  to 
Ned,  being  nearest  him,  and  at  a  sight  of  the 
handwriting  the  young  bank  clerk  exclaimed : 

"It's  from  Tom,  all  right!" 

"What  happened  to  him?"  cried  Mr.  Damon. 
"Where  is  he?  Is  he  a  prisoner?" 

"So  it  seems,"  answered  Ned.    "Wait,  I'll  read 
it  to  you,"  and  he  read: 
180 


RESCUED  181 

"  *Whoever  picks  this  up  please  send  word  at 
once  to  Mr.  Swift  or  to  Ned  Newton  in  Shopton, 
or  to  Mr.  Damon  of  Waterfield.  I  am  a  pris 
oner,  locked  in  the  old  factory.  Tom  Swift* ' 

I 

"Bless  my  quinine  pills!"  cried  Mr,  Damon. 
"What  in  the  world  does  it  mean?  What  fac 
tory?" 

"That's  just  what  we've  got  to  find  out,"  de 
cided  Ned.  "•  Where  did  you  get  this?"  he  asked 
the  farmer's  boy. 

"  'Way  off  over  there,"  and  he  pointed  across 
miles  of  fields.  "I  was  lookin'  for  a  lost  cow,  and 
I  went  past  an  old  factory.  There  wasn't  no 
body  in  the  place,  as  far  as  I  knowed,  but  all  at 
once  I  heard  some  one  yell,  and  then  I  seen  some 
thing  white,  like  a  bird,  sail  out  of  a  high  win 
dow.  I  was  scared  for  a  minute,  thinkin'  it 
might  be  tramps  after  me." 

"And  what  did  you  do,  Sonny?"  asked  Mr. 
Damon,  as  the  boy  paused. 

"Well,  after  a  while  I  went  to  where  the  white 
thing  lay,  and  I  picked  it  up.  I  seen  it  was  a 
piece  of  paper,  with  writin'  on  it,  and  it  was 
wrapped  around  part  of  a  brick." 

"And  did  you  go  near  the  factory  to  find  out 
who  called  or  who  threw  the  paper  out?"  Ned 
(queried. 


182       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

"I  didn't,"  the  boy  answered.  "I  was  scared. 
I  went  home,  and  didn't  even  start  to  find  the  lost 
cow." 

"No  more  he  did,"  chimed  in  the  farmer.  "He 
come  runnin'  in  like  a  whitehead,  and  as  soon  as 
I  saw  the  paper  and  heard  what  Bub  had  to  say,  I 
thought  maybe  I'd  better  do  somethin'." 

"Did  you  go  to  the  factory?"  asked  Ned 
eagerly. 

"No.  I  thought  the  best  thing  to  do  would  be 
to  find  this  Mr.  Swift,  or  the  other  folks  men 
tioned  in  this  letter.  I  knowed,  in  a  general  way, 
where  Shopton  was,  but  I'd  never  been  there, 
doing  my  tradin'  in  the  other  direction,  and  so  I 
had  to  stop  and  ask  the  road.  If  you  can  tell 
me " 

"We're  two  of  the  persons  spoken  of  in  that 
note,"  said  Mr.  Damon,  as  he  mentioned  his  name 
and  introduced  Ned.  "We  have  been  looking  for 
our  friend  Tom  Swift  for  two  days  now.  We 
must  find  him  at  once,  as  there  is  no  telling  what 
he  may  be  suffering. 

"Where  is  this  old  factory  you  speak  of,"  con 
tinued  Mr.  Damon,  "and  how  can  we  get  there? 
It's  too  bad  one  of  you  didn't  go  back,  after  find 
ing  the  note,  to  tell  Tom  he  was  soon  to  be 
rescued. " 

"Waal,  maybe  it  is,"  said  the  farmer,  a  bit  put 


RESCUED  183 

out  by  the  criticism.  "But  I  figgered  it  would  be 
better  to  look  up  this  young  man's  friends  and 
let  them  do  the  rescuin',  and  not  lose  no  time, 
'specially  as  it's  about  as  far  from  my  place  to 
the  factory  as  it  is  to  Shopton." 

"Well,  I  suppose  that's  so,"  agreed  Ned.  "But 
what  is  this  factory?" 

"It's  an  old  one  where  they  started  to  make 
beet  sugar,  but  it  didn't  pan  out,"  the  farmer  said. 
"The  place  is  in  ruins,  and  I  did  hear,  not  long 
ago,  that  somebody  run  a  threshin'  machine 
through  it,  an'  busted  it  up  worse  than  before." 

"Great  horned  toads!"  cried  Ned.  "That  must 
be  the  very  factory  Tom  ran  his  tank  through. 
'And  to  think  he  should  be  a  prisoner  there!" 

"  Held  by  whom,  do  you  suppose?"  asked  Mr. 
Damon. 

"By  that  Blakeson  gang,  I  imagine,"  Ned  an 
swered.  "There's  no  time  to  lose.  We  must  go 
to  his  rescue!" 

"Of  course!"  agreed  Mr.  Damon.  "We're 
much  obliged  to  you  for  bringing  this  note,"  he 
went  on  to  the  farmer.  "And  here  is  something 
to  repay  you  for  your  trouble,"  and  he  took  out 
his  wallet 

"Shucks!  I  didn't  do  this  for  pay!"  objected 
the  farmer.  "It's  a  pity  I  wouldn't  help  anybody 
what's  in  trouble!  If  I'd  a-knowed  what  it 


184        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

meant,  me  and  Bub  here  would  have  gone  to  the 
factory  ourselves,  maybe,  and  done  the  work 
quicker.  But  I  didn't  know — what  with  war 
times  and  such-like — but  that  it  would  be  better 
to  deliver  the  note." 

"It  turns  out  as  well,  perhaps,"  agreed  Ned. 
"We'll  look  after  Tom  now." 

"And  I'll  come  along  and  help,"  said  the 
farmer.  "If  there's  a  gang  of  tramps  in  that 
factory,  you  may  need  some  reinforcements.  I've 
got  a  couple  of  new  axe  handles  in  my  machine, 
and  they'll  come  in  mighty  handy  as  clubs." 

"That's  so,"  said  Mr.  Damon.  "But  I  fancy 
Tom  is  simply  locked  in  the  deserted  factory  of 
fice,  with  no  one  on  guard.  We  can  get  him  out 
once  we  get  there,  and  we'll  be  glad  to  have  you 
come  with  us.  So  if  you  won't  take  any  reward, 
maybe  your  boy  will,  as  he  found  the  note,"  and 
Mr.  Damon  pressed  some  bills  into  the  hands  of 
the  boy,  who,  it  is  needless  to  say,  was  glad  to 
get  them. 

It  was  a  run  of  several  miles  back:  to  the  de 
serted  factory,  and  though  they  passed  houses  on 
the  way,  it  was  decided  that  no  addition  to  their 
force  was  necessary,  though  they  did  stop  at  a 
blacksmith  shop,  where  they  borrowed  a  heavy 
sledge  to  batter  down  a  door  if  such  action  should 
be  needed. 


RESCUED  185 

The  farmer's  rattletrap  of  a  car,  in  spite  of  its 
appearance,  was  not  far  behind  Ned's  runabout, 
and  in  a  comparatively  short  time  all  were  within 
eight  of  the  ruined  place — a  ruin  made  more  com 
plete  by  the  passage  through  it  of  Tom  Swift's 
war  tank. 

"And  to  think  of  his  being  there  all  this 
while!"  exclaimed  Mr.  Damon,  as  he  and  Ned 
leaped  from  their  machine. 

"If  he  only  is  there!"  murmured  the  young 
bank  clerk. 

"What  do  you-  mean  ?  Didn't  the  note  he  threw 
out  say  he  was  there?" 

"Yes,  but  something  may  have  happened  in  the 
meanwhile.  Those  plotters,  if  they'd  do  a  thing 
like  this,  are  capable  of  anything.  They  may 
have  kidnapped  Tom  again. 

"Anyway,  we'll  soon  find  out,"  murmured 
Ned,  as  they  advanced  toward  the  ruin,  Mr.  Da 
mon  and  the  farmer  each  armed  with  an  axe 
helve,  while  Ned  carried  the  blacksmith's  sledge. 

They  went  into  the  end  of  the  factory  that  was 
less  ruined  than  the  central  part,  where  the  tank 
had  crashed  through,  and  made  their  way  into 
what  had  been  the  office — the  place  where  they 
had  found  the  burned  scraps  of  paper. 

"Hark!"  exclaimed  Ned,  as  they  climbed  up 
the  broken  steps.  "I  heard  a  noise." 


186        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

"It's  him  yellin' — like  he  did  afore  he  threw 
out  the  note,"  said  the  boy.  Then,  as  they  lis 
tened,  they  heard  a  distant  voice  calling: 

"Hello!  Hello,  there!  If  that  is  any  friend 
of  mine,  let  me  out,  or  send  word  to  Mr.  Damon 
or  Ned  Newton!  Hello!" 

"Hello  yourself,  Tom  Swift!"  yelled  Ned,  too 
delighted  to  wait  for  any  other  confirmation  that 
it  was  his  friend  who  was  shouting.  "We've 
come  to  rescue  you,  Tom!" 

There  was  a  moment  of  silence,  and  then  a 
voice  asked: 

"Who  is  there?" 

"Ned  Newton,  Mr.  Damon,  and  some  other 
friends  of  yours!"  answered  the  young  bank 
clerk,  for  surely  the  farmer  and  his  son  could  be] 
called  Tom's  friends. 

An  indistinguishable  answer  came  back,  and 
then  Ned  cried : 

"Where  are  you,  Tom  ?  Tell  us,  so  we  can  get 
you  out!" 

They  all  listened,  and  faintly  heard : 

"I'm  in  some  sort  of  an  old  vault,  partly  unde? 
ground.     It's  below  what  used  to  be  the  office 
There's  a  flight  of  steps,  but  be  careful,  as  they're 
rotten." 

Eagerly  they  looked  around.  Mr.  Damon  saw 
a  door  in  one  corner  of  the  office,  and  tried  to 


RESCUED  187 

open  it  It  was  locked,  but  a  few  blows  from 
the  sledge  smashed  it,  and  then  some  steps  were 
revealed. 

Down  these,  using  due  caution,  went  Ned  and 
the  others,  and  at  the  bottom  they  came  upon 
another  door.  This  was  of  sheet  iron  and  was 
fastened  on  the  outside  by  a  big  padlock. 

"Stand  back!"  cried  Ned,  as  he  swung  the 
sledge,  and  with  a  few  blows  broke  the  lock  to 
pieces. 

Then  they  pulled  open  the  door,  and  into  the 
light  staggered  Tom  Swift,  a  most  woe-begone 
figure,  and  showing  the  effects  of  his  imprison 
ment.  But  he  was  safe  and  unharmed,  though 
much  disheveled  from  his  attempts  to  escape. 

"Thank  Heaven,  you've  come!"  he  murmured, 
as  he  clasped  Ned's  hand.  "Is  the  tank  all  right?" 

"All  right!"  cried  Ned.  "And  now  tell  us 
about  yourself.  How  in  the  world  did  you  get 
here?" 

"It's  quite  a  yarn,"  answered  Tom.  "I've  got 
to  pull  myself  together  before  I  answer,"  and  he 
sank  wearily  down  on  a  step,  looking  very  hag 
gard  and  worn. 


CHAPTER    XXIII 

GONE 

"HERE,  eat  some  of  this,"  and  Ned  Held  somfe. 
thing  out  to  his  chum.  "It'll  bring  you  up  quick* 
er  than  anything  else,  except  a  cup  of  hot  tea, 
and  we'll  get  that  as  soon  as  you  can  get  away 
from  here/'  went  on  the  young  bank  clerk. 

"What  is  it?"  Tom  asked,  and  his  voice  was 
very  weary. 

"It's  a  mixture  of  chocolate  and  nuts,"  replied 
Ned.  "It's  a  new  form  of  emergency  ration  is 
sued  to  soldiers  before  they  go  over  the  top.  Out* 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  is  sending  a  lot  to  the  boys  from 
around  here  who  are  in  France.  I  was  helping 
pack  the  boxes  ready  for  shipment,  and  I  kept 
out  some  to  show  you.  Lucky  I  had  it  with  me. 
Eat  it,  and  you'll  feel  a  lot  better  in  a  few  min 
utes.  You  haven't  had  much  to  eat,  have  you  ?" 

"Very  little,"  answered  Tom,  as  he  nibbled 
half-heartedly  at  the  confection  Ned  gave  him, 
while  Mr.  Damon  went  out  to  the  automobile  aad 
HI 


GONE  189 

came  back  with  a  thermos  bottle  filled  with  cool 
water.  He  always  provided  himself  with  this  on 
taking  an  automobile  trip. 

Tom  managed  to  eat  some  of  the  chocolate, 
and  then  took  a  drink  of  the  cool  water.  In  a 
little  while  he  declared  that  he  felt  better. 

"Then  come  out  of  here!"  exclaimed  Ned. 
"You  can  tell  us  how  it  all  happened  and  what 
they  did  to  you.  But  I  can  see  that  last — they; 
treated  you  like  a  dog,  didn't  they?" 

"Pretty  nearly,"  answered  Tom;  "but  they 
didn't  have  things  all  their  own  way.  I  think  I 
made  one  or  two  of  them  remember  me,"  and  he 
glanced  at  his  swollen  and  bruised  hands.  In 
deed,  he  bore  the  marks  of  having  been  in  a  fierce 
fight. 

"Are  you  sure  the  tank's  all  right?"  he  asked 
Ned  again.  "That  has  been  worrying  me  more 
than  my  own  condition.  I  could  think  of  only 
one  reason  why  they  got  me  here  and  held  me 
prisoner,  and  that  was  to  get  me  out  of  the  way 
while  they  captured  my  tank.  Then  they  haven't 
got  her?"  he  asked  eagerly. 

"Not  a  look  at  her,"  Ned  answered.  "She  was 
safe  in  the  shop  when  we  set  out  this  morning." 

"And  now  it's  late  afternoon,"  murmured 
Tom.  "Well,  I  hope  nothing  has  happened 
since,"  and  there  was  vague  alarm  in  his  voice, 


190       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

an  alarm  at  which  Ned  and  Mr.  Damon  won 
dered. 

"Couldn't  you  stop  at  some  farmhouse  and  get 
fixed  up  a  little?"  asked  Mr.  Kimball,  the  farmer 
who  had  brought  the  note  to  Ned  and  Mr. 
Damon. 

"I  need  to  get  fixed  up  somewhere,"  replied 
Tom,  with  a  rueful  look  at  himself — his  hands, 
his  torn  clothes,  and  his  general  dilapidated  ap 
pearance.  "But  I  don't  want  to  lose  any  time. 
I'm  afraid  something  has  happened  at  home, 
Ned." 

"Nonsense!  How  could  there,  with  Koku  on 
guard,  to  say  nothing  of  Eradicate!" 

"Well,  maybe  you're  right,"  agreed  Tom;  "but 
I'll  feel  better  when  I  see  my  tank  in  her  shed. 
Let's  have  some  more  of  that  concentrated  porter 
house  steak  of  yours,  Ned.  It  is  good,  and  it  fills 
out  my  stomach,  which  was  getting  more  inti 
mate  with  my  backbone  than  I  liked  to  feel." 

More  of  the  really  good  confection  and  an 
other  drink  of  refreshing  water  made  Tom  feel 
better,  and  he  was  soon  able  to  walk  along  with 
out  staggering  from  weakness. 

'Vwid  now  let's  get  out  of  here,"  advised  Ned, 
"unless  you've  left  something  back  in  that  vault 
you  want,  Tom,"  and  he  motioned  to  his  chum's 
late  prison. 


GONE  191 

"Nothing  there  but  bad  memories,"  was  the 
reply,  with  a  rueful  smile.  "I'm  as  ready  to  go 
as  you  are,  Ned.  It  was  good  of  you  and  Mr. 
Damon  to  come  for  me,  and  you" — and  he  looked 
questioningly  at  Mr.  Kimball. 

"If  it  hadn't  been  for  Mr.  Kimball  and  his  boy, 
we  wouldn't  have  found  you — at  least  so  soon," 
said  Ned,  and  he  told  of  the  finding  of  the  note 
and  what  had  followed. 

"That's  the  only  way  I  could  think  of  for  get 
ting  help,"  said  Tom.  "They  took  every  scrap  of 
paper  from  me,  but  I  found  some  in  the  lining  of 
my  hat — some  I'd  stuffed  in  after  I  had  a  hair 
cut  and  my  hat  was  too  large.  For  a  pencil  I 
used  burnt  matches.  Oh,  but  I'm  glad  to  be  out!" 
and  he  breathed  deep  of  the  fresh  air. 

"How  did  you  get  in  there?"  asked  Ned  won- 
deringly. 

"Those  fellows — of  course.  The  German  plot 
ters,  I'm  going  to  call  them,  for  I  believe  that 
Blakeson  and  his  gang — though  I  didn't  see  him 
'• — are  really  working  in  the  interests  of  Germany 
to  get  the  secret  of  my  tank." 

"Well,  they  haven't  got  her  yet,"  said  Ned, 
"and  they're  not  likely  to  now.  Go  on,  Tom,  if 
you  feel  able  tell  us  in  a  few  words  what  hap 
pened.  We've  been  trying  to  think,  but  can't" 

"Well,  it  all  happened  because  I  didn't  thinlc 


192       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

enough,"  said  Tom,  who  was  rapidly  recovering 
his  strength  and  nerve.  "When  I  got  that  mes 
sage  that  seemed  to  come  from  you,  Ned,  I  should 
have  known  better  than  to  take  a  chance.  But  it  ( 
seemed  genuine,  and  as  I  had  no  reason  to  sus 
pect  a  trap,  I  started  off  at  once.  I  thought 
maybe  Kanker  had  repented  and  was  going  to 
make  amends  for  all  the  trouble  he  caused. 

"Anyhow,  I  started  off  in  my  machine,  and  I 
hadn't  got  more  than  to  the  crossroads  when  I 
saw  a  fellow  out  tinkering  with  his  auto.  Of 
course  I  stopped  to  ask  if  I  could  help,  for  I  can't 
bear  to  see  any  machinery  out  of  order,  and  as  I 
was  stooping  over  the  engine  to  see  what  was 
wrong  I  was  pounced  on  from  behind,  bound 
and  tied,  and  before  I  could  do  a  thing  I  was 
bundled  into  the  car — a  big  limousine,  and  taken 
away." 

"The  crossroads  was  as  far  as  we  could  trace 
you,"  remarked  Ned. 

"Well,  it  wasn't  as  far  as  they  took  me,  by  any 
means,"  Tom  said.  "They  brought  me  here,  took 
me  out  of  the  machine — and  I  noticed  that  they'd 
brought  mine  along — and  then  they  carted  me' 
into  the  vault. 

"But  they  didn't  have  it  all  their  own  way," 
said  Tom  grimly.  "I  managed  to  get  the  ropes 
loose,  and  I  had  a  regular  knock  down  and  drag 


GONE  193 

out  with  them  for  a  while.  But  they  were  too 
many  for  me,  and  locked  me  up  in  that  place 
after  taking  away  everything  I  had  in  my 
pockets." 

"Were  they  highwaymen?"  asked  Mr.  Kim- 
ball. 

"No,  for  they  tossed  back  my  money,  watcK 
and  some  trifles  like  that,"  Tom  answered.  "I 
didn't  recognize  any  of  the  men,  though  one  of 
them  must  have  known  me,  for  when  they  had 
me  tied  I  heard  one  of  them  ask  if  I  was  the 
right  party,  and  another  said  I  was.  I  know  they 
must  belong  to  the  same  gang  that  Simpson, 
Blakeson,  and  Schwen  are  members  of — the  Ger 
man  spies." 

"But  what  was  their  object?"  asked  Ned.  "Did 
they  try  to  force  you  to  tell  them  the  secrets  of 
the  tank?" 

"No;  and  that's  the  funny  part  which  makes 
me  so  suspicious,"  Tom  answered.  "If  they'd 
tried  to  force  something  out  of  me,  I  would 
understand  it  better.  But  they  just  kept  me 
a  prisoner  after  taking  away  what  papers  I 
had." 

"Were  they  of  any  value?"  asked  Mr.  Damon. 

"Not  as  regards  the  tank.  That  is,  there  was 
nothing  of  my  plans  of  construction,  control  or 
anything  like  that,  though  there  was  some  foreign 


194       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

correspondence  that  I  am  sorry  fell  into  their 
hands.  However,  that  can't  be  helped." 

"And  did  they  just  keep  you  locked  up?"  asked 
Ned. 

"That's  about  all  they  did.  After  the  fight— 
iand  it  was  some  fight!"  declared  Tom,  as  he  re 
called  it  with  a  shake  of  his  head — "they  left  me 
here  with  the  door  shut.  There  must  have  been 
some  one  on  guard,  for  I  could  faintly  hear  some 
body  moving  about. 

"I  tried  to  get  out,  of  course,  but  I  couldn't. 
That  vault  must  have  been  made  to  hold  some 
thing  very  valuable,  for  it  was  almost  as  strong 
and  solid  as  one  in  your  bank,  Ned.  The  only 
window  was  placed  so  high  that  I  couldn't  reacK 
it,  and  it  was  barred  at  that. 

"They  opened  the  door  a  little,  several  times, 
to  toss  in  once  some  old  bags  that  I  made  into  a 
bed,  and  next  they  gave  me  a  little  water  and 
some  sandwiches — German  bologna  sausage  sand 
wiches,  Ned !  What  do  you  think  of  that — add 
ing  insult  to  injury?" 

"That  was  tough!"  Ned  admitted. 

"Well,  I  had  to  put  up  with  it,  for  I  was  Half 
starved,  and  as  sore  as  a  boil  from  the  fight.  I 
didn't  know  what  to  do.  I  knew  that  you'd  miss 
me  sooner  or  later,  and  set  out  to  find  me,  but  I 
hardly  thought  you'd  think  of  this  place.  They 


GONE  195 

couldn't  have  picked  out  a  much  better  prison  to 
hold  me,  for,  naturally,  you  wouldn't  suppose 
enough  of  it  was  left  standing,  after  my  tank  had 
;walked  through  it,  to  make  a  hiding  place. 

"However,  there  was,  and  here  I've  been  kept 
fAt  last  I  thought  of  the  plan  of  sending  out  a 
message  on  the  scrap  of  paper  I  could  tear  out  of 
my  hat.  So  I  wrote  it,  and  after  several  trials 
I  managed  to  toss  it  out  of  the  window.  Then  I 
just  had  to  wait,  and  that  was  the  hardest  of  all. 
The  last  twelve  hours  I've  been  without  food, 
and  I  haven't  heard  any  one  around,  so  I  guess 
they've  skipped  out  and  don't  intend  to  come 
back." 

"We  didn't  see  any  one,"  Ned  reported. 
"Maybe  they  became  frightened,  Tom." 

"I  wish  I  could  think  that,"  was  the  answer. 
"What  is  more  likely  to  be  the  case  is  that  they're 
tip  to  some  new  tricks.  I  must  get  back  home 
quickly." 

And  after  a  stop  had  been  made  at  a  farm 
house  belonging  to  a  business  acquaintance  of 
Ned's,  where  Tom  was  able  to  wash  and  get  a 
cup  of  hot  tea,  which  added  to  his  recuperative 
powers,  the  young  inventor,  with  Ned  and  Mr. 
Damon,  set  out  for  Shopton. 

Before  Mr.  Kimball  started  for  his  home,  re 
newed  thanks  had  been  made  to  the  farmer  and 


196       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

i 
his  son  for  the  part  they  had  played  in  the  rescue, 

and  the  young  inventor,  learning  that  the  boy  had 
a  liking  for  things  mechanical,  promised  to  aid 
him  in  his  intention  to  become  a  machinist. 

"But  first  get  a  good  education,"  Tom  advised. 
"Keep  on  with  your  school  work,  and  when  the 
time  comes  I'll  take  you  into  my  shop." 

"And  maybe  he'll  make  a  tank  that  will  rival 
yours,  Tom,"  said  Ned. 

"Maybe  he  will!  I  hope  he  does.  If  he  comes 
along  fast  enough,  he  can  help  with  something 
else  I'm  going  to  start  soon." 

"What's  that?"  asked  Mr.  Damon. 

"Oh,  it's  something  on  the  same  order,  de 
signed  to  help  batter  down  the  German  lines," 
Tom  answeredt  "I  haven't  quite  made  up  my 
mind  what  to  call  it  yet.  But  let's  get  home.  I 
want  to  see  that  my  tank  is  safe.  The  absence  of 
the  plotters  from  the  factory  makes  me  sus 
picious." 

On  the  way  back  Tom  told  more  of  the  details, 
of  the  attack. 

"But  we'll  forget  about  it  all,  now  you're  out," 
remarked  Ned. 

"And  the  sooner  we  get  home,  the  better," 
added  Tom.  "Can't  you  get  a  little  more  speed 
Out  of  this  machine?"  he  asked. 

"Well,  it  isn't  the  Hawk/'  replied  Ned,  " 


CONE  197 

jwe'll  see  what  we  can  do,"  and  he  made  the  run 
about  fairly  fly. 

Mrs.  Baggert  was  the  first  to  greet  Tom  as 
they  arrived  at  his  home.  She  did  not  seem  as 
surprised  as  either  Tom,  Ned  or  Mr.  Damon  ex 
pected  her  to  be. 

"Well,  I'm  glad  you're  all  right,"  she  said. 
"And  it's  a  good  thing  you  sent  that  note,  for 
your  father  was  so  excited  and  worried  I  was 
getting  apprehensive  about  him." 

"What  note?"  asked  Tom,  while  a  queer  looK 
came  into  his  face. 

"Why,  the  one  you  sent  saying  you  were  de 
tained  on  business  and  would  probably  not  be 
home  for  a  week,  and  to  have  Koku  and  the  men 
bring  the  tank  to  you." 

"Bring  the  tank !  A  note  from  me !"  exclaimed 
Tom.  "The  plotters  again!  And  they've  got  the 
tank!" 

He  ran  to  the  big  shop  followed  by  the  others. 
Throwing  open  the  doors,  they  went  inside.  A 
glance  sufficed  to  disclose  the  worst. 

The  place  where  the  great  tank  had  stood  was 
empty. 

"Gone!"  gasped  Tom. 


CHAPTER   XXIV 

CAMOUFLAGED 

Two  utterances  Tom  Swift  made  when  the 
fact  of  the  disappearance  of  the  tank  became 
known  to  him  were  characteristic  of  the  young 
inventor.  The  first  was : 

"How  did  they  get  it  away?" 

And  the  second  was: 

"Come  on,  let's  get  after  'em!'* 

Then,  for  a  few  moments,  no  one  said  any 
thing.  Tom,  Ned,  and  Mr.  Damon,  with  Mrs. 
Baggert  in  the  background,  stood  looking  at  the 
great  empty  machine  shop. 

"Well,  they  got  her,"  went  on  Tom,  witfi  a 
sigh.  "I  was  afraid  of  this  as  soon  as  they  left 
me  alone  at  the  factory." 

"Is  anything  wrong?"  faltered  the  housekeep 
er.  "Didn't  you  send  for  the  tank,  Tom?" 

"No,  Mrs.  Baggert,  I  didn't,"  Tom  answered. 

"But  I  don't  understand,"  the  housekeeper 
said.  "A  man  came  with  a  note  from  you,  Tom, 
and  in  it  you  said  to  have  him  take  the  tank,  with" 
198 


CAMOUFLAGED  199 

Koku  and  the  men  who  know  how  to  run  it  We 
were  so  glad  to  hear  from  you,  and  know  that 
you  were  all  right,  that  we  didn't  think  of  any 
thing  else,  your  father  and  I.  So  he  went  out  and 
saw  that  the  tank  got  off  all  right.  Koku  was 
glad,  for  it's  the  first  chance  he'd  had  to  ride 
in  it" 

"Who  was  the  man  who  brought  the  note?" 
asked  Tom,  and  he  was  striving  to  be  calm.  "To 
think  of  poor  old  dad  playing  right  into  the  hands 
of  the  plotters!"  he  added,  in  an  aside  to  Ned. 

"Well,  I  don't  know  who  the  man  was,"  said 
Mrs.  Baggert.  "He  seemed  all  right,  and  of 
course  having  a  note  from  you " 

"Who  has  that  note  now?"  asked  Tom  quickly. 

"Your  father." 

"Come  on,"  and  Tom  led  the  way  back  to  the 
house.  "I'll  have  a  look  at  that  document,  which 
of  course  I  never  wrote,  and  then  we'll  get  after 
the  plotters  and  the  tank." 

"She  ought  to  be  easy  to  trace,"  observed  Mr. 
Damon.  "Bless  my  fountain  pen,  but  she  ought 
to  be  easy  to  trace!  She  will  leave  a  track  like 
a  giant  boa  constrictor  crawling  along." 

"Yes,  I  guess  we  can  trace  her,  all  right,"  as 
sented  Tom  Swift;  "but  the  point  is,  will  there 
be  anything  left  of  her?  That's  what  I'm  afraid 
of  now." 


200       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

Mr.  Swift  was  still  excited,  but  his  worry  fiacJ 
subsided  as  soon  as  he  knew  Tom  was  safe. 

"The  whole  thing  is  a  forgery,  but  fairly  well 
done,"  Tom  said,  as  he  looked  at  the  paper  his 
father  gave  him — a  brief  note  stating  that  Tom 
;was  well,  but  detained  on  business,  and  that  the 
tank  was  to  be  brought  to  him,  just  where  the 
bearer  of  the  note  would  indicate.  Koku,  the 
giant,  and  several  of  the  machinists,  who  knew 
how  to  operate  the  big  machine,  were  to  go  with 
it,  the  note  said. 

"That  made  me  sure  everything  was  all  right," 
said  Mr.  Swift.  "I  knew,  of  course,  Tom,  that 
plotters  might  try  to  get  hold  of  your  war  secret, 
but  I  didn't  see  how  they  could  if  Koku  and  some 
of  your  own  men  were  in  possession." 

"They  couldn't — as  long  as  they  remained  in 
possession,"  Tom  said.  "But  that's  the  trouble. 
I'm  afraid  they  haven't.  What  has  probably  hap 
pened  is  that  under  the  direction  of  this  man, 
who  brought  the  forged  note  from  me,  Koku  and 
the  others  took  the  tank  where  he  directed  them, 
thinking  to  meet  me.  Then,  reaching  the  place 
where  the  rest  of  the  plotters  were  concealed, 
they  overpowered  Koku  and  the  others  and  took 
possession  of  the  machine." 

"They'd  have  trouble  with"  Koku,"  suggested 
Ned. 


CAMOUFLAGED  201' 

"Yes,  but  even  a  giant  can't  fight  too  big  a 
crowd,  especially  if  he  is  taken  by  surprise,  and 
that's  probably  what  happened,"  remarked  Tom. 
"Now  the  question  is  where  is  the  tank,  and  how 
can  we  get  her  back?  Every  minute  counts.  If 
those  German  spies  and  their  helpers  remain  in 
possession  long,  they'll  find  out  enough  of  my 
secrets  to  enable  them  to  duplicate  the  machine, 
and  especially  some  of  the  most  exclusive  fea 
tures.  We've  got  to  get  after  'em!" 

"They  imitated  your  writing  pretty  well, 
Tom,"  observed  Ned,  as  he  looked  at  the  forged 
note. 

"Yes;  that's  why  they  took  all  my  papers  away 
from  me — to  get  specimens  of  my  handwriting. 
I  half  suspected  that,  but  I  didn't  quite  figure  out 
what  their  game  was.  Well,  we  know  the  worst 
now,  and  that's  better  than  working  in  the 
dark.  Now  I'm  going  to  have  a  bath  and  get 
into  some  decent  clothes,  and  we'll  see  what  we 
can  do." 

"Count  on  me,  Tom!"  exclaimed  Ned.  "I'll 
go  the  limit  with  you!" 

"I  knew  you  would,  old  man!" 

"And  me,  too!"  cried  Mr.  Damon.  "Bless  my 
open  fireplace,  but  I'll  send  word  to  my  wife  that 
I'm  not  coming  home  to-night,  and  we  can  start 
the  first  thing  in  the  morning,  Tom." 


202       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

"Yes;  there  isn't  much  use  in  going  now,  as  it 
will  soon  be  dark. " 

"How  are  you  going  to  trace  the  tank,  Tom?" 
asked  Ned,  when  his  chum  had  bathed  and  gotten 
into  fresh  clothes. 

"I'm  going  to  tour  the  country  around  here  in 
an  auto.  The  tank  can  make  ten  miles  an  hour, 
but  that's  nothing  to  what  an  auto  can  do.  And 
we  oughtn't  to  have  much  trouble  in  tracing  her. 
No  one  whose  house  she  passed  would  forget  her 
in  a  hurry." 

"That's  so,"  agreed  Ned.  "But  if  they  took 
her  across  country " 

"A  different  story,"  agreed  Tom.  "Come  to 
think  of  it,  maybe  we'd  better  start  to-night,  Ned. 
We  can  make  inquiries  after  dark  as  well  as  by 
daylight  and  get  ready  for  an  early  morning 
hunt." 

"Let's  do  it,  then!"  suggested  his  chum.  "I'm 
ready.  I'll  send  word  that  I'll  not  be  home  to 
night." 

"Good!"  cried  the  young  inventor.  "We'll 
have  an  old-fashioned  hunt  after  our  enemies, 
Ned!" 

"And  don't  leave  me  out!"  begged  Mr.  Damon. 

Hurried  preparations  were  made  for  the  night 
trip.  Tom  ordered  out  one  of  his  speediest, 
though  not  largest,  automobiles,  and  told  his 


CAMOUFLAGED  203 

helper  to  get  the  Hawk  ready,  to  have  her  so  she 
could  start  at  a  moment's  notice  if  needed. 

"You're  not  going  in  her,  are  you,  Tom?" 
asked  Ned. 

"I  may  need  her  to-morrow  for  daylight  hunt 
ing.  If  the  tank's  hidden  somewhere,  I  can  spot 
her  from  above  more  easily  than  from  the 
ground.  So  if  we  get  any  trace  of  my  machine, 
I  can  phone  in  and  have  the  aeroplane  brought 
to  me." 

"That's  a  good  idea!" 

Inquiry  at  the  shop  where  the  tank  had  been 
built  and  kept  disclosed  the  fact  that,  in  addition 
to  Koku,  three  of  Tom's  men  had  gone  in  her  to 
help  manage  the  machine  under  the  direction  of 
the  man  who  bore  the  forged  note.  That  he  was 
one  of  the  plotters  not  hitherto  observed  by  either 
Ned  or  Tom  seemed  certain. 

"And  they  took  Koku  and  some  of  the  men 
merely  to  make  it  look  natural  and  as  if  it  were 
all  right,"  Tom  said.  "Naturally  that  deceived 
my  father,  who  thought,  of  course,  that  I  was 
waiting  for  the  machine.  Well,  it  was  a  slick 
trick,  Ned,  but  we  may  fool  them  yet" 

"I  hope  so,  Tom." 

Night  had  fully  fallen  when  Tom,  Ned,  and 
Mr.  Damon  started  away  in  the  touring  car. 

Out  onto  the  road  rolled  the  automobile.    Dur- 


204        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

ing  the  little  daylight  that  had  remained  after  his 
arrival  at  home  and  following  the  discovery  of 
the  loss  of  the  tank  Tom  and  Ned  had  traced  it, 
by  the  marks  of  the  big  steel  caterpillar  belts,  to 
the  main  road.  It  had  gone  along  that  some  dis 
tance,  just  how  far  could  not  be  said. 

"But  by  using  the  searchlight  of  the  auto  wtf 
can  trace  her  as  long  as  they  keep  her  on  the 
road,"  said  Tom.  "After  that  we'll  have  to  trust 
to  luck,  and  to  what  inquiries  we  can  make." 

The  touring  car  carried  a  powerful  lamp,  and 
by  its  gleams  it  was  easy  to  trace  for  a  time  the 
progress  of  the  ponderous  tank.  There  was  no 
need  to  make  inquiries  of  persons  living  along 
the  way,  though  once  or  twice  Tom  did  get  out 
to  ask,  confirming  the  fact  that  the  big  machine 
had  rumbled  past  in  a  direction  away  from  the 
Swift  home. 

"I  had  an  idea  they  might  have  doubled  on 
their  tracks  for  a  time,  and  backed  her  up  just  to 
fool  us,"  Tom  said.  "They  might  do  that,  keep 
ing  her  in  the  same  tracks." 

But  this,  evidently,  had  not  been  done,  and  the 
tank  was  making  good  speed  away  from  the 
Swift  house.  They  kept  up  the  search  until  about 
midnight,  and  then  a  heavy  rain  began  just  be 
fore  they  reached  a  point  where  several  roads 
branched 


CAMOUFLAGED  205' 

"Luck's  with  them!"  exclaimed  Tom.  "This 
will  wash  away  the  marks,  and  we'll  have  to  go 
it  blind.  Might  as  well  put  up  here  for  the 
night,"  he  added,  as  they  came  to  a  village  hotel. 

It  was  evident  that  little  more  could  be  done  in 
the  rain  and  darkness,  and  there  was  danger  of 
over-running  the  trail  of  the  tank  if  they  kept  on. 
So  they  turned  in  at  the  hotel  and  got  what  little 
rest  they  could  in  their  anxious  state  of  minds. 

Tom  tried  to  be  cheerful  and  to  look  for  the 
best,  but  it  was  hard  work.  The  tank  was  his  pet 
invention,  and,  moreover,  that  her  secrets  should 
fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy  and  be  used  for 
Germany  and  against  the  United  States  eventu 
ally,  made  the  young  inventor  feel  that  every 
thing  was  going  wrong. 

The  rain  kept  up  all  night,  and  this  would 
make  it  correspondingly  hard  for  them  to  pick  up 
the  trail  in  the  morning. 

"The  only  thing  we  can  do  is  to  make  in 
quiries,"  decided  Tom.  "Fortunately,  the  tank 
can't  easily  be  hidden." 

They  started  off  after  an  early  breakfast.  The 
roads  were  so  muddy  and  wet  that  traveling  was 
difficult  and  dangerous  for  the  automobile,  and 
they  were  disappointed  in  finding  no  one  who  had 
seen  or  heard  the  tank  pass  up  to  a  point  not  far 
from  the  hotel  where  they  had  stayed  overnight. 


206       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

From  then  on  the  big  machine  seemed  to  have 
disappeared. 

"I  know  what  they've  done,"  Tom  said,  when 
noon  came  and  they  had  found  no  trace  of  the 
ponderous  war  machine.  "They've  left  the  road 
and  taken  her  cross  country,  and  we  can't  find 
the  spot  where  they  did  this  because  the  rain  has 
washed  out  the  marks.  Well,  there's  only  one 
thing  left  to  do." 

"What's  that?"  asked  Ned. 

"Get  the  Hawk!  In  that  we  can  look  down 
and  over  a  big  extent  of  country.  That's  what 
I'll  do — I'll  phone  for  the  airship.  The  rain  iji 
stopping,  I  think." 

The  rain  did  cease  by  the  time  one  of  Tom'ft 
men  brought  the  speedy  aircraft  to  the  place 
named  by  the  young  inventor  in  his  telephone 
message.  There  were  still  several  hours  of  dayj 
light  left,  and  Tom  counted  on  them  to  allow  him 
to  rise  in  the  air  and  look  down  on  the  tank's 
possible  hiding  place. 

"One  thing's  sure,"  he  told  Ned:  "I  know  the 
limit  of  her  speed,  and  she  can't  be  farther  off 
than  at  some  place  within  a  circle  of  about  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  miles  from  my  house. 
And  it's  in  the  direction  we're  in.  So  if  I  circle 
around  up  above,  I  may  spot  her." 

"I  hope  so,"  murmured  Ned. 


CAMOUFLAGED  207 

It  was  arranged  that  Mr.  Damon  should  take 
the  automobile  back,  with  Tom's  mechanician  in 
it,  and  Tom  and  Ned  would  scout  around  in  the 
aircraft,  which  carried  only  two. 

"You  ought  to  have  a  machine  gun  with  you, 
Tom,  if  you  plan  to  attack  those  fellows  to  get 
back  the  tank,"  Ned  said. 

"Oh,  I  don't  imagine  I'll  need  it,"  he  said. 
"Anyhow,  a  machine  gun  wouldn't  be  of  much 
effect  against  the  tank.  And  they  can't  fire  on 
us,  for  there  wasn't  any  ammunition  for  the  guns 
in  Tank  A,  unless  they  got  some  of  their  own, 
and  I  hardly  believe  they'd  do  that.  I'll  take  a 
chance,  anyhow." 

And  so  the  search  from  the  air  began.  It  was 
disappointing  at  first  Around  and  around  cir 
cled  Tom  and  Ned,  their  eyes  peering  eagerly 
down  from  the  heights  for  a  sight  of  the  tank, 
possibly  hidden  in  some  little-known  ravine  or 
gully. 

Back  and  forth,  like  a  speck  in  the  sky,  Tom 
guided  the  Hawk,  while  Ned  took  observation 
after  observation  with  the  binoculars. 

At  last,  when  the  low-sinking  sun  gave  warn 
ing  that  night  would  soon  be  upon  them,  Ned's 
glasses  picked  up  something  on  the  ground  far 
below  that  made  him  sit  suddenly  straighter  in 
his  seat 


208       TOM  SWIFT  'AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

"What  is  it?"  asked  Tom  through  the  speak 
ing  apparatus,  feeling  the  movement  on  the  part 
of  his  chum. 

"I  see  something  down  there,  Tom,"  was  the 
answer.  "It  doesn't  look  like  the  tank,  and  yet  it 
doesn't  look  as  a  clump  of  trees  and  bushes  ought 
to  look.  Have  a  peep  yourself.  It's  just  beyond 
that  river,  against  the  side  of  the  hill — a  lone 
some  place,  too." 

Tom  took  the  glasses  while  Ned  assumed  con 
trol  of  the  Hawk,  there  being  a  dual  system  for 
operating  and  steering  her. 

No  sooner  had  the  young  inventor  got  the 
focus  on  what  Ned  had  indicated  than  he  gave 
a  cry. 

"What  is  it?"  asked  the  young  bank  clerk. 

"Camouflaged!"  cried  Tom,  and  without  stop 
ping  to  explain  what  he  meant,  he  handed  the 
binoculars  back  to  Ned  and  began  to  guide  the 
Hawk  down  toward  the  earth  at  high  speed. 


CHAPTER   XXV 

FOILED 

"Is  it  really  Tank  A,  Tom?"  cried  Ned, 
through  the  tube,  as  soon  as  he  became  aware  of 
his  companion's  intention.  "Are  you  sure?" 

"That's  the  girl,  and  just  where  you  spotted 
her  with  the  glasses — in  that  clump  of  bushes. 
But  they've  daubed  her  with  green  and  brown 
paint — camouflaged  her,  so  to  speak — until  she 
looks  like  part  of  the  landscape.  What  made  you 
suspicious  of  that  particular  place?" 

"The  green  was  such  a  bright  one  in  contrast 
to  the  rest  of  the  foliage  around  it" 

"That's  what  struck  me,"  Tom  answered,  as  he 
continued  to  drive  the  Hawk  earthward.  "They 
thought  they  were  doing  a  smart  trick — imitating 
the  tactics  of  the  Allies  with  their  tanks — but  they 
must  be  color  blind." 

Ned   took   another   observation   through    the 

glasses.    He  could  see  the  tank  more  easily  now. 

There  she  was,  fairly  well  hidden  in  a  clump  of 

bushes  and  small  trees  on  the  banks  of  a  river,, 

209 


210       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

about  a  hundred  miles  away  from  Shopton.  It 
was  in  a  wild  and  desolate  country,  and  only  with 
the  airship  could  the  trail  have  thus  been  fol 
lowed. 

Ned  saw  that  the  tank  had  been  daubed  with 
green,  yellow,  and  brown  paint,  in  fantastic 
blotches,  to  make  the  big  machine  blend  with  the 
foliage;  and,  to  a  certain  extent,  this  had  been 
accomplished. 

But,  as  Ned  had  remarked,  the  green  used  was 
of  too  vivid  a  hue.  No  natural  tree  put  forth 
leaves  like  that,  and  the  glass  had  further  re 
vealed  the  error. 

"Look,  Tom!"  suddenly  cried  Ned.  "She's 
moving!" 

"You're  right!"  answered  the  young  inventor. 
"They've  seen  us  and  are  trying  to  get  away." 

"But  they  can't  beat  your  airship,  Tom." 

"I  know  that.  But  their  game Oh,  Ned, 

they're  going  to  wreck  her!"  cried  Tom,  and  there 
was  anguish  in  his  voice. 

As  the  two  looked  down  from  their  seats  in 
the  Hawk  they  saw  the  tank,  in  its  fantastic  dress 
of  splotchy  paint,  leave  her  lair  amid  the  bushes 
and  trees,  and  head  toward  the  river.  Like  some 
ponderous  prehistoric  monster  about  to  take  a 
drink,  she  careened  her  way  toward  the  stream, 
which,  at  this  point,  ran  between  high  banks. 


FOILED  211 

"What's  the  game?"  cried  Ned 

"They're  going  to  send  her  to  smash!"  cried 
Tom.  "She's  pretty  tough,  Tom,  but  she'll  never 
stand  a  tumble  down  into  the  river  without  break 
ing  a  lot  of  machinery  inside  her." 

"But  if  they  demolish  the  tank  they'll  kill  them 
selves,  won't  they?  And  Koku  and  your  men, 
too,  who  must  be  prisoners  in  her !" 

"They  won't  risk  their  own  worthless  hides, 
you  may  be  sure  of  that!"  exclaimed  Tom. 
"There  they  go,  but  they  must  have  left  Koku 
und  the  others  to  their  fate!" 

"Oh,  if  they  could  only  get  loose  and  take  con 
trol  now,  Tom,  they'd  save  your  tank  for  you!" 
«houted  Ned. 

"Yes;  but  they  can't,  I'm  afraid.  They  may 
be  killed,  or  so  securely  bound  that  they  can't  get 
loose!" 

"Can't  you  get  the  Hawk  there  in  time  to  stop 
her?" 

"I'm  afraid  not.  By  that  time  she'll  have  at 
tained  top  speed  and  it  would  be  taking  our  lives 
in  our  hands  to  try  to  make  a  flying  jump,  get 
inside,  and  shut  off  the  motors." 

"Then  the  tank's  got  to  smash!"  said  Ned 
gloomily. 

Tom  did  not  answer  for  a  moment.  He  and 
his  chum  watched  the  fleeing  figures  running 


212       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

away  from  the  war  engine.  What  the  plotters 
had  done,  as  soon  as  they  saw  the  aircraft  and 
realized  that  Tom  had  discovered  them,  was  to 
start  the  motors  and  leap  from  the  tank,  closing 
the  doors  after  them.  Whether  or  not  they  had 
left  Koku  and  the  others  prisoners  inside  re 
mained  to  be  seen. 

But  the  tank  was  plunging  her  way  toward  the 
steep  bank  of  the  river,  doomed,  it  seemed,  to 
great  damage,  if  not  to  destruction. 

"Oh,  if  we  could  only  halt  her!"  murmured 
Ned. 

Tom  Swift  was  busy  with  some  apparatus  on 
the  Hawk.  Ned  heard  the  hum  of  an  electric 
motor  which  was  connected  with  the  engine,  and 
there  soon  sounded  the  crackle  of  the  wireless. 

"What  are  you  doing?  Signaling  for  help 
from  those  inside  the  tank?"  asked  Ned,  for  the 
big  machine  was  fitted  to  receive  and  send  mes 
sages  of  this  sort. 

"I'm  trying  something  more  desperate  than 
that,"  Tom  answered. 

Again  the  wireless  crackled,  Tom  working  it 
with  one  hand  while,  with  the  other,  he  guided 
the  aircraft.  Ned  looked  downward  with  won 
dering  eyes. 

The  tank  was  still  plunging  her  way  toward  the 
steep  bank  of  the  river.  If  she  tumbled  down 


FOILED  213 

this,  there  would  be  little  left  of  the  expensive 
and  complicated  machinery  inside. 

"The  rascals  did  their  work  well,"  mused  Ned. 
"They've  probably  gotten  all  the  secrets  they 
want  and  now  they're  going  to  spoil  all  Tom's 
hard  work.  It's  a  shame !  If  only " 

Ned  ceased  his  musing.  Something  was  tak 
ing  place  down  below  that  he  could  not  explain. 
The  tank  seemed  to  be  slackening  her  progress. 
More  and  more  slowly  she  approached  the  edge 
of  the  cliff. 

"Tom!  Tom!"  yelled  Ned.  "You  must  have 
waked  some  of  them  up  inside  and  they've  thrown 
the  motors  out  of  gear!  Hurrah!  She's  stop- 
ping!" 

"I  believe  she  is !"  yelled  Tom.  "Oh,  if  it  only 
works!" 

The  tank  was  still  moving,  though  more  slow 
ly.  Still  the  crackle  of  the  wireless  was  heard. 

And  then,  just  as  Tom  shut  off  his  own  motor 
and  let  the  Hawk  glide  on  her  downward  way  in 
a  volplane  to  earth,  the  great,  ponderous  tank 
came  to  a  stop,  on  the  very  edge  of  the  precipice 
at  the  foot  of  which  rolled  the  river. 

"Whew!"  whistled  Ned,  as  the  aircraft  rolled 
along  the  ground  near  the  war  machine.  "That 
was  touch  and  go,  Tom!  They  stopped  her  just 
in  time." 


214       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

"You  mean  the  wireless  stopped  her,"  said 
Tom  quietly.  "I'm  very  much  afraid  that  if 
Koku  and  the  others  are  alive  they're  still  pris 
oners  in  the  craft." 

"The  wireless!"  gasped  Ned,  as  he  and  his 
chum  got  out  of  the  Hawk.  "Do  you  mean  that 
you  stopped  her  by  wireless,  Tom?" 

"That's  what  I  did.  It  was  a  desperate  chance, 
but  I  took  it.  I  had  just  installed  in  the  tank  a 
system  of  wireless  control,  so  she  could  be  guided 
as  some  torpedos  and  submarines  are,  by  wireless 
impulses  from  the  shore. 

"Only  I'd  never  given  the  tank  system  a  try- 
out  It  was  all  installed,  and  had  worked  per 
fectly  on  the  small  model  I  constructed.  And 
when  I  saw  her  running  away,  out  of  control  as 
she  was,  I  realized  the  wireless  was  the  only  thing 
that  would  stop  her,  if  that  would.  It  might  op 
erate  just  opposite  to  what  I  wanted,  though,  and 
increase  her  speed. 

"But  I  took  the  chance.  I  set  the  airship  wire 
less  current  to  working,  and  tuned  it  in  to  co 
incide  with  the  control  of  the  tank.  Then,  by 
means  of  the  wireless  impulses,  I  shut  off  the 
motors,  which  can  be  stopped  or  started  by  hand 
or  by  electricity.  I  shut  'em  off." 

"And  only  just  in  time!"  cried  Ned.  "Whew, 
Tom  Swift,  but  that  was  a  close  call!" 


FOILED  215 

"I  realize  that  myself!"  said  the  young  in 
ventor.  "This  is  a  new  idea  and  has  to  be 
worked  out  further  for  our  newer  tanks." 

"Gee!"  ejaculated  Ned.  "Out  of  date  before 
,got  into  use!  Now  let's  see  about  our  friends!" 

It  was  the  work  of  but  a  moment  to  enter  the 
tank,  and,  after  making  sure  that  the  machinery 
was  all  right,  Tom  and  Ned  made  their  way  to 
the  interior.  In  one  of  the  smallest  rooms  they 
found  Koku  and  the  others  bound  with  ropes,  and 
in  a  bad  way.  Koku  was  so  tied  with  cords  and 
hemp  as  to  resemble  a  bale  of  Manilla  cable. 

"Cut  'em  loose,  Ned!"  cried  Tom,  and  the 
bonds  were  soon  severed.  Then  came  explana 
tions. 

As  has  been  told,  one  of  the  plotters,  whose 
identity  was  not  learned  until  later,  came  with  the 
forged  note.  The  giant  and  Tom's  men  set  out 
in  the  tank,  and  the  machine  was  stopped  at  a 
certain  place  where  the  plotter,  who  gave  the 
name  of  Crossleigh,  told  them  Tom  was  to  meet 
his  men. 

Out  of  ambush  leaped  Simpson  and  others, 
'who  overpowered  the  mechanics,  even  subduing 
Koku  after  a  fierce  fight,  and  then  they  took  pos 
session  of  the  tank,  making  the  others  prisoners, 
i  iWhat  happened  after  that  could  only  be  con 
jectured  by  Tom's  men,  for  they  were  shut  up  in 


216       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

an  inner  room.  It  seemed  certain,  though,  that 
the  tank  was  taken  to  some  secret  place  and  there 
painted  to  resemble  the  verdure.  Then  she  went  on 
again,  coming  to  rest  where  Tom  and  Ned  saw  her. 

Meanwhile  the  plotters  were  gradually  getting, 
at  the  s'ecrets  of  construction,  and  they  were  in 
the  midst  of  this  work  when  one  of  them  saw  the 
aeroplane.  Rightly  guessing  what  it  portended, 
they  left  hurriedly,  still  leaving  the  hapless  men 
bound,  and  started  the  tank  on  what  they  thought 
would  be  her  last  trip. 

"But  you  saved  her,  Tom!"  cried  Ned.  "You 
saved  her  with  the  wireless." 

And  word  was  sent  back  to  Shopton  by  the 
same  means  to  tell  Mr.  Swift,  Mr.  Damon,  and 
the  others  that  Tom  and  his  tank  were  safe.  And 
then,  a  little  later,  when  the  bound  men  had  re~ 
covered  the  use  of  their  cramped  limbs,  the  tank 
was  backed  away  from  the  ledge  and  started  on 
her  homeward  way,  Tom  and  Ned  preceding  her 
in  the  Hawk. 

Without  further  incident,  save  a  slight  break 
which  was  soon  repaired,  Tank  A  soon  reached 
her  harbor  again,  and  a  double  guard  was  posted 
about  the  shop. 

"And  they  won't  get  much  more  chance  to  steaf 
her  secrets,"  said  Tom  that  night,  when  th* 
stories  had  been  told. 


FOILED  217 

"Why?"  asked  Ned. 

"We  start  to  dismantle  her  at  once,"  Tom  an 
swered,  "and  she  goes  to  England  to  be  repro 
duced  for  France." 

"If  only  those  plotters  haven't  stolen  the  se 
crets,"  mused  Ned. 

But  if  they  had  they  got  little  good  of  them. 
For  shortly  afterward  government  secret  service 
agents  rounded  up  the  chief  members  of  the  gang, 
including  Simpson  and  Blakeson.  They,  with 
Schwen,  were  sent  to  an  internment  camp  for  the 
period  of  the  war,  and  enough  information  was 
obtained  from  them  to  disclose  all  the  workings 
of  the  plot. 

"It  was  just  like  lots  of  other  stunts  the  Ger 
man  spies  tried  to  put  over  on  the  good  old 
U.  S.  A.,"  said  Tom  to  Ned,  the  day  after  the 
dismantled  tank  was  shipped  to  Great  Britain. 
"In  some  way  the  spies  found  out  what  I  was 
making,  and  then  they  got  hold  of  Blakeson  and 
Grinder.  Those  fellows,  who  so  nearly  queered 
me  in  the  big  tunnel  game,  promised  to  make  a 
tank  that  would  beat  those  the  British  at  first  put 
out,  and  they  took  some  German  money  in  ad 
vance  for  doing  it. 

"When  they  found  they  couldn't  make  good, 
the  German  spies  agreed  to  help  them  get  pos- 
$ession  of  my  secrets.  They  worked  hard  enough 


218       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

at  it,  too,  but,  thanks  to  you,  Ned,  and  to  Eradi- 
caie,  who  gave  us  the  tip  on  Schwen,  we  beat  'em 
out." 

"And  so  it's  all  over,  Tom?" 

"Yes,  practically  all  over.  I've  given  all  my) 
interests  in  the  tank  to  Uncle  Sam.  It  was  the 
only  way  I  could  do  my  bit,  at  this  time.  But 
I've  something  else  up  my  sleeve." 

And  those  of  you  who  care  to  learn  what  ths 
young  inventor  next  did  may  do  so  by  reading 
the  next  volume  of  this  series. 

It  was  about  a  week  after  Tank  A,  as  she  was 
still  officially  called,  had  been  shipped  in  sections 
that  Ned  Newton  called  at  Tom's  home.  He 
found  his  chum,  with  a  flower  in  his  buttonhole, 
about  to  leave  in  his  small  runabout. 

"Oh,  excuse  me!"  exclaimed  Ned.  "This  is 
Wednesday  night.  I  might  have  known.  Give 
Mary  my  regards." 

"I  will,"  promised  Tom,  with  a  smile. 

THE   END 


Would  you  like  to  know  what 
became  of  the  good  friends  you 
have  made  in  this  book? 
Would  you  like  to  read  other 
stories  continuing  their  adventures 
and  experiences,  or  other  books 
quite  as  entertaining  by  the  same 
author? 

On  the  reverse  side  of  the  wrap 
per  which  comes  with  this  book, 
you  will  find  a  wonderful  list  of 
stories  which  you  can  buy  at  the 
same  store  where  you  got  this  book. 

Don't  throw  away  the  Wrapper 

Use  it  as  a  handy  catalog  of  the  books 
you  want  some  day  to  have.  But  in 
case  you  do  -mislay  it,  write  to  the 
Publishers  for  a  complete  catalog. 


THE    TOM    SWIFT    SERIES 

By  VICTOR  APPLETON 

Uniform  Style  of    Binding.     Individual  Colored  Wrappers. 
Every  Volume  Complete  in  Itself. 

Every  boy  possesses  some  form  of  inventive  genius.  Tom  Swift 
is  a  bright,  ingenious  boy  and  his  inventions  and  adventures  make 
the  most  interesting  kind  of  reading. 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR  CYCLE 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR  BOAT 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIRSHIP 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  SUBMARINE  BOAT 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WIRELESS  MESSAGE 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  ELECTRIC  RUNABOUT 

TOM  SWIFT  AMONG  THE  DIAMOND  MAKERS 

TOM  SWIFT  IN  THE  CAVES  OF  ICE 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  SKY  RACER 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  ELECTRIC  RIFLE 

TOM  SWIFT  IN  THE  CITY  OF  GOLD 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  GLIDER 

TOM  SWIFT  IN  CAPTIVITY 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WIZARD  CAMERA 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  GREAT  SEARCHLIGHT 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  GIANT  CANNON 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  PHOTO  TELEPHONE 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AERIAL  WARSHIP 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  BIG  TUNNEL 

TOM  SWIFT  IN  THE  LAND  OF  WONDERS 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  UNDERSEA  SEARCH 

TOM  SWIFT  AMONG  THE  FIRE  FIGHTERS 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  ELECTRIC  LOCOMOTIVE 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  FLYING  BOAT 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  GREAT  OIL  GUSHER 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  CHEST  OF  SECRETS 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIRLINE  EXPRESS 

TOM  SWIFT  CIRCLING  THE  GLOBE 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  TALKING  PICTURES 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  HOUSE  ON  WHEELS 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  BIG  DIRIGIBLF  ^ 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,   Publishers,  NEW  YORK 


University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

405  Hilgard  Avenue,  Los  Angeles,  CA  90024-1388 

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utu   1  9  1994 


KEC'D 


JUN  04  2004 

SRLF 
2  WEEK  LOAN 


A    000956756    1 


